Question Time — Scottish Executive — Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive – in the Scottish Parliament at 2:30 pm on 13 November 2003.
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to increase national health service dental provision in Inverness. (S2O-748)
Responsibility for the overall provision of NHS dental services in Inverness rests with Highland Primary Care NHS Trust. However, the Executive is aware that there are problems with access to NHS dental services in some parts of Scotland, including Inverness. For that reason, Highland is one of the designated areas of Scotland that benefits from enhanced incentives in the recruitment and retention package that was introduced by the Executive.
As I have said to Parliament, we are urgently examining provision of NHS dentistry. I can confirm that we will make a statement on the subject in the chamber next week.
We all fully appreciate that the Scottish Executive has introduced new incentives to NHS practices, as the minister has outlined. Unfortunately, those have not eased the recruitment problems for the only dental practice in Lewis and Harris. The dentist there—Ken Macdonald—has given over 20 years of excellent service to thousands of my constituents, but he continues to experience difficulty in recruiting dentists. Mr Macdonald has no desire to take his practice, which is staffed entirely by NHS dentists, into the private sector. Does the minister agree that that is exactly the type of situation that requires immediate and urgent attention?
I agree fully with that. The incentive package that was introduced has in many respects helped to stem the tide, but it has not been totally successful. That is why we fully recognise that there is a need to review again the provision of dental health services in Scotland. I entirely concur with the sentiments of Mr Macdonald—[ Laughter. ]—I mean Mr Morrison.