§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the number of private practices in orthodontics; and how many practices are providing NHS treatment.
§ Mr. StewartNo information is held on dental practices which provide private treatment only. According to health board information there are around 50 practices undertaking NHS treatment in which a specialist practitioner provides only orthodontic services to patients. In addition to these specialist orthodontic practitioners, other general dental practitioners may provide orthodontic
Table B Orthodontists recruited to the NHS by health board Scotland Ayrshire and Arran Fife Grampian Greater Glasgow Lothian Tayside Year ending 30 September 1991 11 1 — 2 2 5 1 Year ending 30 September 1992 7 1 3 2 — — 1
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many patients are waiting for day care orthodontic
614Was well as other treatment, but these practitioners cannot be identified separately. NHS orthodontic treatment may also be available through the community dental service and the hospital dental service.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the practices within each health board which have opted out of providing NHS orthodontic care.
§ Mr. StewartSince July 1992 no practices which offer a specialised orthodontic service have opted out of providing NHS orthodontic care. Eleven general dental practitioners have, however, withdrawn from providing NHS general dental services and these may have included dentists who undertook some orthodontic treatment.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many orthodontists are currently in NHS hospitals, and in the community, within each health board area; and how many orthodontists were recruited to the NHS within each health board during the last four years.
§ Mr. StewartThe number of orthodontists employed in the NHS at 30 September 1992, the latest date for which information is available centrally, is shown in table A. Information on the number of orthodontists employed in the community is not available centrally.
The number of orthodontists recruited to hospitals in the NHS in the 2 years to 30 September 1992, the latest date for which information is available centrally, is shown in table B. Prior to September 1991, the specialties of orthodontics and paediatric dentistry were combined. Therefore, orthodontists can be identified separately only from that date.
Table A: Orthodontists employed by health board, at 30 September 1992 Number Whole-time equivalent Scotland 54 38.3 Argyll and Clyde 2 2.0 Ayrshire and Arran 2 1.5 Borders 1 0.7 Dumfries and Galloway 3 1.1 Fife 8 5.9 Forth Valley 2 2.0 Grampian 6 1.5 Greater Glasgow 11 9 1 Highland 4 3.1 Lanarkshire 2 2.0 Lothian 6 5.5 Orkney 0 0.0 Shetland 0 0.0 Tayside 7 3.9 Western Isles 0 0.0 treatment within each health board for (a) less than three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six to nine months, (d) nine to 12 months and (e) over one year;
(2) what is the average waiting time for orthodontic treatment within each health board;
615W(3) what was the number of patients waiting for orthodontic treatment for (a) less than three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six to nine months, (d) nine to 12 months and (e) over one year for each year since 1988.
§ Mr. StewartThe numbers of patients awaiting in-patient or day case treatment in orthodontics and paediatric dentistry are relatively small. At 30 June 1993, the latest date for which information is centrally available, the in-patient waiting list for Scotland totalled 14 and there were no patients on the day case list. The majority of orthodontic and paediatric dentistry patients treated outwith the general dental service are seen at consultant out-patient clinics and the average waiting time for new out-patient referrals is set out in the table.
New outpatient referrals to orthodontics and paediatric dentistry Quarter ended 30 June 1993 Scotland Health board of residence Number Mean wait1 Argyll and Clyde 1,330 112.8 Ayrshire and Arran 615 175.3 Borders 230 43.8 Dumfries and Galloway 362 122.7 Fife 1,212 97.7 Forth Valley 498 570 Grampian 992 167.4 Greater Glasgow 922 103.3 Highland 474 104.1 Lanarkshire 941 109.0 Lothian 382 74.2 Orkney — — Shetland — — Tayside 727 94.7 Western Isles 1 128.0 SCOTLAND 8,686 111.6 1 Days. Source: SMRO.