Steps to improve access to dentistry
I read with interest the letter 'Province is losing its dentists to Republic' published on March 23. I do not feel that the letter accurately reflects the situation.
While I share the author's frustration with the difficulty in accessing dental services, I would strongly disagree that the small number of locally-qualified dentists practising in the Republic is a significant cause of the current access problems.
There are many reasons why we are currently experiencing access problems to health service dentistry. These include: dentists choosing to work solely in the private sector; the changing gender mix of the profession, with Northern Ireland having the highest percentage of female dentists in the UK, which has led to more part-time working; and greater demand for cosmetic dentistry which means more time being spent on private than health service work.
Northern Ireland has one of the best dentist per head of population ratios in the UK, and 36 per cent of the dentists practising in Northern Ireland qualified from universities outside of the Province, including from the Republic. In fact, we have a net inward flow of dentists into Northern Ireland which is very welcome.
The vast majority of our local graduates stay in Northern Ireland and I cannot, nor would I want to, restrict any individual's decision to practise in the EU country of their choice.
I have made the provision of health service dental care a priority and I have implemented a range of measures to address the problems which we were experiencing with dental services. These measures included a significant investment of over 8million into health service dentistry to help address dentists' concerns about overhead costs, training positions and recruitment.
I approved a tender exercise for dental services in order to provide 38 additional Health Service dentists into access 'hotspots', 14 of whom will be located in the west of the Province. Funding for this initiative is from the headroom in the existing dental budget created by those dentists who have left the health service. This will give patients the choice that they deserve, and I hope to be able to make an announcement on these new dentists soon.
I have also instructed my department to develop a bespoke dental contract for Northern Ireland with the British Dental Association. The new contract will enable commissioners to ensure adequate numbers of dentists to meet the needs of their local population.
I trust that this clarifies the reasons behind the current access problems to Health Service dentistry and outlines the measures I have taken to address these problems.
Michael McGimpsey
Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety
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Wednesday 15 February 2012
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