§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many patients have contacted each family health services authority asking for help in finding a dentist in the period since December 1993; and if he will make a statement. [29602]
§ Mr. RichardsAccording to information supplied by Welsh family health services authorities, the following numbers of patients contacted them between the beginning of December 1993 and the end of March 1996:
- Clwyd: 6,821
- Dyfed: 4,533
- Gwent: 3,352
- Gwynedd: 15,478
- Mid Glamorgan: 584
- Powys: 2,466
- South Glamorgan: 2,814
- West Glamorgan: 221.
The Welsh Office has made £3 million available for a unique initiative aimed at addressing the needs of those areas where patients may have difficulty in registering with a dentist close to their homes. The initiative demonstrates the Government's determination to address the dental manpower needs of Wales.
§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many family health authorities have been unable to provide emergency dental services in the period since December 1993; and if he will make a statement. [29600]
§ Mr. RichardsAccording to information supplied by Welsh family health service authorities, one authority was unable to provide emergency dental services for unregistered patients during the period December 1993 to 1 July 1995. Since 2 July 1995, all authorities have been able to do so.
General dental practitioners are required by their terms of service to provide emergency cover for their registered patients.
§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many continuing care dental patients have been de-registered; how many dentists have de-registered patients in each year since 1992; and if he will make a statement. [29612]
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§ Mr. RichardsFrom the information supplied by family health service authorities since August 1992, the number of patients in Wales who have been deregistered is as follows:
Adults Children Total 19921 8,167 15 8,182 1993 9,138 75 9,213 1994 20,172 53 20,225 1995 18,300 67 18,367 19962 1,750 9 1,759 Totals 57,527 219 57,746 1 1 August to 31 December. 2 To 31 March. These are cumulative figures and do not indicate how many of those patients subsequently registered with another dentist.
The number of dentists deregistering patients in any fortnightly period has varied between 0 and 38.
This information was supplied for management purposes only and is not statistically validated.
Statistics published by the Dental Practice Board indicate that, at the end of December 1995, the number of registered patients in Wales was 38,194 higher than it was at the end of June 1992.
§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many dentists have given written notice to have their name removed from dental lists since 1992; and if he will make a statement. [29597]
§ Mr. RichardsInformation supplied by Welsh family health services authorities indicates that 121 dentists gave written notice to have their names removed from dental lists between 1 August 1992 and 31 March 1996. During the same period, 265 dentists joined the authorities' dental lists.
This information was supplied for management purposes only and has not been statistically validated.