January 2003

Front Page Archives

SNP Candidate Attacks Lack Of Dentists In Rural Areas
Rob Gibson the SNP parliamentary candidate for the May 2003 elections for the Scottish Parliament in Caithness Sutherland and East Ross wasted no time in attacking the latest report on lack of dentists in the far north.    The problem highlighted on Grampian Television on Monday 10 February is one that he would like to see the next government tackle head on.

'There are too few dentists in post in the Highlands compared to city areas of Scotland. The recruitment drive by North Health chiefs will founder without increased numbers of Scots taking dental training. So the current Scottish Executive target of 120 graduates per year does not meet our needs', said Rob Gibson, SNP prospective Scottish Parliamentary Candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.  He will debate these findings with party members in Thurso and Wick whose branch AGMs he will attend on Thursday evening.

'The scale of the problem shows the Highlands with 33 dentists per 100,000 people, compared to Tayside, Glasgow and Lothian with around 44 per 100,000.   But the gulf compared to Sweden shows the poverty of the Scottish NHS.  Swedes have 100 dentists per 100,000!

 'A medical conference being held in Inverness this week has debated Educational Support in Remote and Rural Medicine that dissects the damning NHS dental report published last month.  It shows that the LibLab Scottish Government has not got to grips with the North of Scotland's health needs.

If it had heeded the trends far more doctors and dentists would be available to fill the vacancies such as the Caithness crisis.

'A commitment must be made by the new Scottish Government to increase dentist numbers and buck the abysmal UK dental expenditure that shows up at a third of the level of dental investment of Germany and the USA. On another measure Blair's Britain invests a half to two thirds less of our GDP on dental services than France, Germany or the USA respectively.

'But remoteness from medical services in the Highlands demand special attention.  Where the USA, Canada, Sweden etc train dentists and doctors for rural conditions this is only in its infancy here. RARARI the Remote and Rural Health Resource Initiative set up four years ago must be retained for ten years instead of the current term that runs out this Spring. The SNP is committed to meet health needs across the land.  RARARI has shown its worth in exploring the gaps in the service that need urgent attention for recruitment, retention, medical educational training and a sustainable service.'