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Just 2 in 5 Sutton Residents Join NHS Dentists
August 19, 2003 6:30 PM
Just 41% of local residents are registered with a dentist
Only two in five people are now registered with an NHS dentist in Sutton and Merton PCT, latest government figures show. The figures revealed in a recent Parliamentary Question show that 59% of local people are not registered with an NHS dentist.
The figures show that just 41.3% of residents in the region are registered, compared to an average of 47.9% in the rest of England. The new revelation comes just days after Mr Burstow revealed that Merton & Sutton PCT had failed in hitting its targets to reduce fillings in five year old children.
The fear is that dentists are devoting greater time to better paid private work. An average cost for a private dental examination will bring in four times as much as a NHS examination.
Paul Burstow said:-
"This is bad news for Sutton's teeth. Many people cannot now register with a dentist at all. Ministers are putting all their money into schemes providing dental access centres. Patients have to travel miles to get dental care they should receive at their local dental surgery.
"Ministers' inaction could soon turn Sutton and Merton into a rotten tooth borough. The government should be providing local care for local people. No central guidelines even exist on the distance that a patient should have to travel to receive dental treatment.
"The failure to increase registrations is an indictment of Ministers' failure to restore the NHS and Sutton and Merton PCT to what it should be: offering universal, comprehensive and local care for all those that need it."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. Figures were revealed in a PQ to the Department of Health, 3 Feb 2003 : Col 109W. Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people in (a) England, (b) each NHS region, (c) each strategic health authority and (d) each primary care trust were registered with an NHS dentist as at 30 September 2002. [91368]
Mr. Lammy: 47.9 per cent. of people were registered with a general dental service (CDS) dentist in (a) England at 30 September 2002.
General Dental Service: Number of registrations as a percentage of the population 1 by Primary Care Organisation 2 at 30 September 2002, England
Primary Care Organisation Registrations Rate (%)
Sutton & Merton PCT 41.3
ENGLAND 47.9
1 April 2002 GP relevant population estimates for England constrained to ONS 2001 mid year estimates - based on the 2001 census.
2 Excludes any registrations that cannot be assigned to the Primary Care Organisation area.
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