HC Deb 19 May 1992 vol 208 cc79-80W
Mr. Ainger

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he is taking to ensure national health service treatment is available in their community for those dental patients whose dentists have ended national health service dental treatment.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

The community dental service is obliged to provide a safety net for patients who are unable to obtain treatment under the general dental services. It is for the district health authorities, in consultation with family health services authorities, to determine what services community dental services provide.

Mr. Ainger

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many dentists in Dyfed have since April 1991(a) ceased treating all patients, (b) ceased providing national health service treatment for adult patients, (c) ceased providing national health service treatment for all their patients and (d) opened new practices;

(2) how many dentists in Wales, in numbers and as a percentage of the whole, have stopped providing national health service dental treatment for (a) adult patients, (b) patients under 18 years and (c) all patients since April 1991;

(3) how many dentists in Wales have given notice to their family health services authorities that they wish to end providing national health service dental treatment to (a) adult patients, (b) patients under 18 years and (c) all patients.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

The information is not available in the form requested. The majority of dentists are continuing to provide NHS treatment for all patients. Nearly one and a half million patients were registered with dentists in Wales as at 31 March 1992. In the first year of the new contract there was a net decrease of five dentists practising in the general dental service in Wales.

Mr. Ainger

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will instruct family health services authorities in Wales to negotiate contracts with health trusts and directly managed community health service units to provide national health service dental treatment in areas where it is not available locally from independent contract dentists;

(2) if he will fund family health service authorities to purchase national health service dental care from health trusts and directly managed community health service units to provide national health service dental treatment in those areas where national health service treatment is not available from independent contracting dentists.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

The powers of the family health services authorities to administer general dental services are set out within the terms of the NHS Act 1977 and these proposals appear to fall outside the scope of the Act.