§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much(a) a basic filling, (b) a crown and (c) a course of bridgework costs (i) an exempt NHS patient and (ii) a patient paying 80 per cent. of the cost of treatment;
(2) how much a basic filling, a crown and a course of bridgework would cost (a) an exempt national health service patient and (b) a patient paying 80 per cent. of the cost of treatment, if the dental charges were to rise by (i) 5 per cent., (ii) 10 per cent., (iii) 15 per cent., (iv) 20 per cent. and (v) 25 per cent.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe statement of dental remuneration gives a range of fees payable to dentists depending on the complexity of the actual treatment provided. Exempt patients pay no charges. For a single filling, excluding root fillings, the charge for a patient paying 80 per cent. of the cost would be between £4.24 and £11.00. For a single crown, the patient's charge would be between £41.52 and £59.32. For a course of bridgework, the patient's charge would be between £184.24 and the maximum of £275 for a single course of treatment.
The effect of each 5 per cent. increase would be to raise the patient's charge in the examples given above by £0.21, £0.55, £2.08, £2.97 and £9.21 respectively, but not beyond the maximum of £275.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many courses of dental treatment have been given to expectant and nursing mothers in each of the last 10 years; and what was the cost of the courses in each of the last 10 years.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe information is provided in the table.
29W
General dental services number and gross cost of courses of treatment for expectant and nursing mothers from 1984 to 1993–941 adults England Courses of treatment Gross cost Total 2Expectant mothers 2Nursing mothers Total 2Expectant mothers 2Nursing mothers Year Number Number Number £ £ £ 1983 886,090 — — 24,593,360 — — 1984 890,470 — — 26,909,170 — — 1985 903,760 — — 28,676,670 — — 1986–87 968,720 — — 33,916,030 — — 1987–88 978,770 — — 34,784,740 — — 1988–89 1,015,140 — — 38,843,190 — — 1989–90 1,044,250 — — 40,523,920 — — 31990–91 — — — — — — 1991–92 1,117,865 452,555 665,310 45,173,918 15,074,247 30,900,671 1992–93 1,116,531 443,922 672,609 42,846,329 14,133,933 28,712,396 41993–94 1,060,683 429,382 631,301 35,990,624 12,327,137 23,663,487 Notes:
1 Data for 1978 to 1985 are available for calendar year only.
2 Separate data for expectant and nursing mothers are not available before 1991–92.
3 Data for 1990–91 are not available.
4 These figures are estimated using 5 per cent. sample; complete data are not yet available.
Source: Dental Practice Board.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many courses of dental treatment have been given to patients who pay 80 per cent. of the cost of treatment.
§ Dr. MawhinneyIt is estimated that 21.7 million courses of treatment were completed between 1 April 1993 and 31 May 1994 for which no exemption or full or partial remission was claimed.1 Some of these courses of treatment will have been affected by the operation of the maximum charge and some will have been started before 1 April 1993—when the 80 per cent. proportion came into effect—and will therefore have been paid at an earlier rate.
1 Estimated from a 5 per cent. sample of courses of treatments.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) adults and (b) children, who are registered with a dentist, are exempt from paying charges.
§ Dr. MawhinneyAll children are exempt from national health service dental charges. It is not possible to quantify the number of adult patients registered with a dentist who qualify for exemption.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average cost per adult patient for each course of dental treatment in each year from 1990–91 to 1993–94.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe direct cost for a course of treatment for an adult patient is the fee paid to the dentist. The table shows the average fee in each year.
Average cost per adult course of treatment England Year Average cost (£) 1990–91 36.20 1991–92 39.80 1992–93 39.11 1993–94 36.18 Source: Dental Practice Board.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total amount raised from all charges on NHS dental services.
30W
§ Dr. MawhinneyProvisional data for 1993–94 indicates that patient charge income from the general dental services was £367 million, net of refunds to patients. Information is not available centrally on the small amount of income raised by the limited range of patient charges applicable in the community and hospital dental services.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when she will be publishing her response to the report by Sir Kenneth Bloomfield on dental remuneration;
(2) when she will be publishing the oral health strategy for England; and what status it will have when it is published.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe Government's response to Sir Kenneth Bloomfield's report will be published in due course. The oral health strategy for England will be published at or around the same time. The strategy will review the present state of oral health in England and set out objectives for the future.