ambitious plan to end the plight of 124,000 patients

NHS chiefs to hire 77 dentists for north-east

By Calum Ross

Published:

Ambitious plans to provide 124,000 more north-east residents with an NHS dentist were backed by regional health chiefs yesterday.

NHS Grampian board members agreed a four-year dental action plan – with a target of recruiting 77 new dentists.

The aim is to try and rid the region of one of the worst oral health records in Europe.

And the board also rubber-stamped a full business case for a £21million dental school in Aberdeen. It will go to the Scottish Government for final approval before work gets under way on site next month.

Yesterday’s decisions coincided with a government announcement that £75million will be invested in national dental facilities – £6.62million of it in the north-east.

It is thought NHS Gram-pian will use part of its share to help pay for new dentists.

Fewer than 30% of adults in Grampian are registered with an NHS dentist – it is just 15% in Moray – compared with 49% across Scotland.

The aim is to register an additional 25,000 children with an NHS dentist by 2010 to meet national targets, while registering a further 99,000 adults by 2012.

Health board chief executive Richard Carey said: “Although we are setting out our own stall, and will do anything we can for improvement, there does need to be development nationally so we can bring more dentists into NHS provision.”

The waiting list for an NHS dentist in Grampian currently stands at around 29,000.

The number of NHS dental registrations in the region fell by more than 80,000 between 1998 and 2006, from 282,013 to 201,228.

But the decline has started to reverse in the last two years, with 15,000 additional registrations between June 2007 and March 2008.

NHS Grampian dental public health consultant Ray Watkins said those in most need will be given priority.

“I think many people felt the plan was very ambitious, but although they said we were optimistic, nobody said we should reduce these targets in any way.”

Plans to establish a new Aberdeen University Dental School at Foresterhill also moved forward yesterday.

A draft business case for the £21million project was approved by the board and goes to Scottish ministers for the final go-ahead.

Work could begin on the school for 80 graduate students as early as next month, with completion in September 2009.

Professor Mike Greaves, head of the university’s school of medicine and dentistry, said: “We are delighted to have reached this stage of the approval process for this landmark development.”

Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon yesterday announced a £75million nationwide investment package to give Scotland “a dental service to be proud of”.

Grampian will receive an extra £3.09million for 2009-10, and an additional £3.53million for 2010-11.

Priorities

Priorities include new dental centres for independent general dental practitioners working in the NHS, the upgrading of decontamination facilities in their premises, as well as investment for community health centre projects and other new GP and community facilities.

Ms Sturgeon said: “This substantial investment will allow health boards to put in place a range of new and improved health facilities to serve people in communities right across Scotland.

“This government is strongly committed to improving dental services, particularly in areas where registration rates are unacceptably low.

“Too many people in Scotland still don't have access to an NHS dentist and we are determined to reverse the years of neglect and bring NHS dentistry within reach of those who don't have access.

“We will build on recent increases in the number of dentists working in the NHS with a £21million dental school in Aberdeen due to start training dentists in October.

“I look forward to seeing the detailed proposals that come forward from health boards as we take the firm action needed to give Scotland a dental service to be proud of.”