This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scotland smiles better
27/02/2006
The first 11 Polish dentists recruited to work within the NHS were welcomed to Scotland today.
These dentists will provide treatment for around 20,000 patients and it was confirmed that a total of 40 Polish dentists have been recruited this year.
Deputy Health Minister Lewis Macdonald said:
"I am delighted to be welcoming these new dentists and their families to Scotland today. It is great news for the thousands of people who will now be able to register for NHS dental treatment across the country.
"Our aim is to restore the balance so that patients who want to access NHS dental services can do so, wherever they live in Scotland. Building up the salaried dental service is one way in which we can achieve this.
"I am also pleased to be able to confirm that the total number of dentists recruited from Poland to join the NHS salaried service in Scotland has risen to 40.
"We have already paid out several million pounds in new money this year for high street dentists to increase their incentive to provide NHS services. But we recognise that in some areas we need a salaried service to give dentists who have gone private some competition, and to give patients in those areas some choice.
"We recognise that the current difficulties in accessing NHS dental services will not be solved overnight. However, it is clear the Polish dentists will play a valuable role in increasing the number of patients who are able to choose to access NHS dental services across Scotland. That is good news for patients and good news for the future of NHS dentistry in Scotland."
The contract to bring all the dentists to Scotland was agreed in September 2005. The first group of 11 dentists will be employed in the salaried service in Fife (6), Forth Valley (3) and Argyll & Clyde (2).
A further 29 Polish dentists will join the NHS in Scotland in two groups over the next few months. It is expected that in total the 40 dentists will provide treatment for around 80,000 patients. They have been recruited to the following Health Boards (numbers still tbc):
- April 2006: Dumfries & Galloway, Argyll & Clyde, Borders, Western Isles, Orkney, Tayside
- September 2006: Fife, Grampian, Highland, Tayside, Lothian, Argyll & Clyde, Shetland, Ayrshire & Arran
Mr Macdonald also confirmed that the Executive does not intend to reconsider its position on dental reform, in response to calls from the British Dental Association. He explained:
"We have no intention of reopening the question of what defines NHS commitment. Most of the 30 per cent of dentists who do not currently qualify for the new dental allowances are in that position because they currently do not treat adult fee-paying patients on the NHS.
"The main problem of access to NHS dentistry is for adult patients who are de-registered against their will and then forced to pay for private treatment.
"For us to invest money without setting a threshold for the number of adult NHS patients a dentist must treat would compound this problem, not solve it.
"It is extremely encouraging that the Albyn Dental Practice, for example, which in November said it would quit the NHS, announced last week that they had recruited an extra dentist to take back NHS patients. That is great news for the patients and I hope to see more practices making that move back to the NHS and benefiting from the tens of thousands of pounds of additional funding available to each and every one of them."