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Great News for Caithness Dental
Services The new facility has been made possible by NHS Highland’s success in bidding for capital funding from the Scottish Executive who have recently authorised the introduction of additional dentists for the area. The plan will provide a modern clinical environment within which there will be opportunities to train Dentists and Dental Therapists. This exciting new development will hopefully attract Dental Practitioners to the area which, in the past, has had difficulty in recruiting and retaining dental staff.
Mr. Robert Nicol, Senior Dentist, in the
area said:
At present there are two dental teams working in Caithness, one headed up by Robert Nicol and the other by a locum dentist, Simon Shepherd. The Scottish Executive have authorised the recruitment of a further two posts, with a third in the pipeline. A Dental Think Tank was formed early in 2003, with membership consisting of representatives of the local community and health professionals. The Think Tank who met to consider the difficulties in recruitment and retention of dental teams associated with lack of access are delighted to see their hard work paying off. George Bruce, Chairman of the Caithness
and Northern Sutherland Health Forum said: The building was put up by Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise at the new Business Park to ensure that facilities were available for new enterprises wishing to locate near Wick. The new dental training unit will take over the entire building |
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New Facilities
For Dental Services Across Scotland The £2.35 million will help to provide 14 brand new and 6 redeveloped state of the art dental facilities across Scotland. The projects, which are likely to result in the appointment of around 12 new salaried dentists, will include: -The creation of a new four surgery
dental facility in Banff, Aberdeenshire, providing around 17,000 new
appointments for the area each year Deputy Health Minister, Tom McCabe said: "As well as providing both routine and specialist dental services, including improving access for people with disabilities and special needs. Many will provide vital facilities for trainee dentists. In remote and rural areas this may encourage more dentists to take up permanent posts. It may also provide a model to be used in other areas of Scotland. "New salaried dentists will also be employed in some of the premises, allowing more patients to access NHS dental care. "This brings the total amount invested in improving access to NHS dentistry since 2002 to over £15 million. This money has helped to provide incentives for dentists to practice in rural areas as well as encourage development of training facilities, as well as upgrade premises. However these projects are only part of the picture. They are not the whole solution. "Our dental consultation, Modernising Dental Services, which ended last month, looked at ways in which we can improve and sustain access to NHS dentistry in the future. "We have had a significant number of responses to the consultation and need to ensure that these are fully analysed. Later this year I will outline our response to the consultation, including the action we will take to help improve access to NHS dentistry and make a real difference to Scotland's oral health record." The full list of successful bidders is
below: Ayrshire and Arran will receive £140,000 to support a programme of small scale adaptations of dental premises in 12 clinics, health centres and community hospitals. This will provide the NHS Board area with a network of DDA compliant dental surgeries. In Fife £250,000 will provide a new Dental Access Centre in Kirkcaldy. The four surgery centre will provide general dental services, emergency dental service clinics and training facilities for dental therapists from Dundee dental school. Forth Valley will receive £60,000 to provide a new emergency dental care facility in Falkirk Royal Infirmary, linked with A&E and the existing GP out of hours service. In Glasgow £400,000 will enable the redevelopment and extension of dental surgery facilities within the new multi-agency Pollok project, which brings a range of health services under one roof. In Springburn £150,000 will provide a new facility focusing on care for children at high risk of developing dental disease In Banff, £500,000 will provide a new four surgery unit along with one hygienists' unit and one dedicated X-Ray unit within the hospital grounds. In Wick, £340,000 will provide a new 5 surgery facility which will also provide placements for dental graduates. In Lanarkshire £30,000 will upgrade Coathill Hospital dental surgery to improve access for people with special needs. In Orkney £261,250 will help to upgrade Stromness Dental Centre In Shetland £155,000 will expand the current dental service on Whalsay, relocating it within the redeveloped Whalsay Health Centre Statistics on NHSScotland dental statistics were released today by the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency. The statistics can be accessed at www.show.scot.nhs.uk Responses to the Consultation, 'Modernising Dental Services' are currently undergoing independent analysis. A formal response will be issued in late summer.
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