Recent Parliamentary dental topics
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- Published: Sunday, 29 November -0001 23:58
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Questions from MPs included an exchange from an SNP member comparing childrens oral health in Scotland with that in England. The MP for York wanted to know what was being done to improve access to NHS dentistry. Finally during the Brexit debate in the Lords, the issue of dentists and doctors coming from the EU was raised.
Gavin Newlands, SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North asked what plans the Health Department had to improve children’s health. He said the Scottish initiative Childsmile, which is now 10 years old, had greatly improved children’s dental health, reducing fillings by 24% and cutting annual dental treatment by £5 million. He said it was good that trial sites had been set up in England, but he said “with multiple dental extractions under general anaesthetic up by 11%, why is this initiative not being rolled out to all children in England?”
Junior health minister Jackie Doyle-Price MP, said the Government was implementing a wide range of policies to improve child health, including the most ambitious childhood obesity plan in the world, transformation of children’s mental health and maternity services, improving immunisation rates and tackling child sexual abuse. She continued that ministers were ‘always keen to respond to any representations made on this very important issue’. She continued: “We are also very keen to learn from the other nations about this area, because it is clear that the more we can do with early intervention in childhood, the better we protect people’s long-term health. I will look more specifically into that (the Childsmile project).”
Julian Sturdy Conservative MP for York Outer asked what steps the Department was taking to improve access to NHS dental care in York and North Yorkshire, both for adults and children.
Replying, junior minister Steve Brine MP, said that access nationally remains high with 22.1 million adults having seen an NHS dentist in the last 24 months and 6.9 million children having seen an NHS dentist in the last 12 months. However, there are areas where there is further to go to ensure that all those who want to access NHS dental care can do so. NHS England (Yorkshire and the Humber) is currently reviewing how it can improve access to NHS dentists from April 2018, prioritising areas where access is particularly difficult.
On children, he added: “Survey data suggests 75% of children are now decay free at five years old. But there is further to go to ensure all children benefit from this improvement. The proposed new contract being tested includes a clinical pathway which supports dentists to provide the most appropriate preventative care as well as active treatment. Alongside this NHS England is targeting children in areas of particularly high need.
“The ‘Starting Well’ programme has been launched in 13 high needs areas and aims to reach children not currently being seen regularly by a dentist. Starting Well core, a complementary programme NHS England is developing, will take the principles of approach and make it available as a broader model to any commissioner based on local assessment of need and priorities. This is expected to be available later in 2018.”
In the House of Lords, during the Brexit debate, Baroness McIntosh of Pickering pointed out that currently, a British lawyer, dentist or doctor can practise in any other European country. There is a reciprocal right for nationals of other EU countries to practise here. She said: “We are losing dentists and doctors because of the certification process which will be subject to negotiation on the basis of mutual recognition.”
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