Parliamentary report 30 June
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- Published: Monday, 03 July 2017 07:38
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Questions resumed in the new Parliament with Yorkshire MPs asking on progress of the new dental contract and access to NHS dentistry in their area. There was also a speech in the House of Lords from a former Dean of the Royal College of Surgeons expressing concern about the high consumption of sugar and its effect on childrens’ teeth.
Imran Hussain Bradford East (Labour) asked what progress had been made on the ‘rollout of a new contract to dental care providers’. Steve Brine the new junior minister at Health replied: “The Department is working in conjunction with NHS England to test a prototype new dental contract with an increased focus on prevention. The remuneration system is designed to better support dentists to prevent as well as treat disease and maintain the numbers of patients they care for.
“The trial of the new clinical and remuneration approach began in April 2016 with prototype practices across England testing the new way of working. The scheme is being evaluated and the substantive report on the scheme to date is expected to be available later this year. Decisions on next steps and any wider roll out will be based on the learning from the prototype scheme.”
Rachel Reeves Leeds West (Labour) asked what steps had been taken ‘to increase local provision and equitable access to NHS dental care’. Steve Brine again replied that overall access to NHS dentistry continued to increase. 22.2 million adults were seen by a dentist in the 24 month period ending 31/03/17 and 6.8 million children in the 12 month period ending 31/03/17. This represented 58,500 more adults and 47,400 more children than the previous quarter.
He continued “NHS England is responsible for commissioning NHS dental services and has a legal duty to commission primary care dental services to meet local needs. Whilst access has increased nationally we know there are areas where there is still further to go in ensuring that all those who want to access NHS dentistry can do so.
“New ways of providing care are being trialled to reform the current dental contract to further improve oral health and increase access, by preventing as well as treating disease, so freeing up resources. Alongside this a new programme, the Starting Well Programme, is being developed to work in 13 high needs areas to improve the oral health of children under the age of five who would not normally be regular dental attenders.”
Lord Ribeiro a Conservative peer and former Dean of the Royal College of Surgeons spoke in the Lords’ debate on the Queen’s speech. His was the only mention of dentistry and he said: “Public health and prevention gets little press in the world of high-tech medicine, but a recent analysis by the Faculty of Dental Surgery (RCS) should give cause for concern. It shows that there has been a 24% rise in the number of tooth extractions performed on children under the age of four in hospitals in England during the last decade. This is the first time such a long-term study has been done for children under four.
“Professor Nigel Hunt, the dean of the dental faculty, appealed to parents and the Government to take stronger action over the effects of sugar on our children’s teeth. He noted that the average five year-old eats his or her own weight in sugar in a year. The sugar tax, much derided by the food industry as a nanny-state tax, was introduced in the Budget this year to combat childhood obesity and tooth decay. The Chancellor described it as one tax which will actually reduce revenue.
“It seems that the threat of the tax and the Government’s legislation on the soft drinks industry levy, due for implementation (next year), has already altered behaviour and the food industry is reformulating its products and reducing the sugar content. I hope that the Minister will say more about this and what plans they have to restrict sugar and promote the use of fluoridation nationally to reverse dental caries and prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes.”
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