§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of NHS dentists needed to ensure that everyone has access to an NHS dentist. [140636]
§ Mr. HuttonIt is not possible to estimate with accuracy the number of National Health Service dentists needed to ensure that everyone has access to a NHS dentist. There are now 17,692 dentists in the General Dental Service (traditional, high street dentists) in England compared to 16,303 in 1997.
891WAlthough the number of dentists has consistently risen, the amount of time they spend treating NHS patients has dropped. This is because, on average, dentists have increased the amount of time that they devote to private practice and more are working part-time.
§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for health authority area the ratio of NHS dentists to the population in each of the last 10 years, indicating for each year the areas where there has been a shortage of NHS dentists and the number required to make up the shortfall. [140641]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information for England has been placed in the Library.
This information does not necessarily reflect whether there was a shortage of National Health Service dentists. A number of other factors also have a strong bearing. Such factors include the varying level of commitment of dentists to the NHS and different levels of demand.
§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, by health authority area, how many(a) adults and (b) children registered with NHS dentists in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage this represents of the total number of adults and children respectively. [140638]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information for England has been placed in the Library.
The information shows that the number of patients registered with a dentist has declined since 1993. This is mainly due to dentists choosing to increase their private practice, to more dentists working part-time, the reduction in the registration period in 1996 and a drive to eliminate duplicate registrations.
Comparable data for 1991 are not available because registration was only introduced in October 1990 and the number of patients registered was still growing until 1992.
§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many students are undertaking dental studies; and how many new students entered dental schools in each of the last 10 years.[140637]
§ Mr. HuttonIn January 2000 there were 4,185 students in training in the United Kingdom. The table shows the number of new pre-clinical students entering dental schools in the United Kingdom for the academic years 1991–92 to 2000–01.
892W
UK dental schools—admissions to dental schools in the United Kingdom Academic year Actual intake of pre-clinical students 1991–92 870 1992–93 849 1993–94 891 1994–95 936 1995–96 924 1996–97 937 1997–98 888
UK dental schools—admissions to dental schools in the United Kingdom Academic year Actual intake of pre-clinical students 1998–99 866 1999–2000 877 2000–011 915 1Provisional data Source:
Higher Education Funding Council for England Universities and Colleges Admissions Service