S1W-20038: How many consultants there are in (a) restorative dentistry, (b) oral and maxillofacial surgery and (c) orthodontics in each health board a…

The question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultants there are in (a) restorative dentistry, (b) oral and maxillofacial surgery and (c) orthodontics in each health board area in the current financial year, and were in each of the last three years, expressed in (i) numerical terms and (ii) as a ratio of consultants to head of population in the health board area.

The answer

Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 Jan 2002 · 67 days after it was lodged, 50 days after it was due

Provisional Information on staff numbers at 30 September 2001 is not yet available. The information requested for the years 1998 to 2000, apart from maxillofacial surgeons who are not separately identified, is shown in Tables 1 and 2. Maxillofacial surgeons will be identified separately in data collected from September 2001 onwards. The tables should be read in conjunction with the following notes.Consultants in these dental specialties can and do offer services to patients from health board areas other than the one at which they are based. It should therefore be noted that the ratio of consultants to head of population does not necessarily reflect the level of consultant service available in any area. Treatments provided by consultants in a particular board may be provided by other grades of staff in other boards, which further distorts comparisons between boards based on these statistics.Table 1
- Consultants in Selected Dental Specialties by Health BoardHeadcount at 30 September | 1998 | 1999 | 2000
| Restorative Dentistry | Oral Surgery | Orthodontics | Restorative Dentistry | Oral Surgery | Orthodontics | Restorative Dentistry | Oral Surgery | Orthodontics
Scotland | 21 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 27 | 27 | 21 | 25 | 26
Argyll & Clyde |
- |
- | 2 |
-

In the Official Report

No contribution in the Official Report cites S1W-20038 by reference.