Teething Troubles

There are two subjects which engage politicians and public alike. And on which both will readily express firm views. The Health Service and Schools.

Why? Because we both experience them at some time in our life. And because both touch us at our very core.

Schools are the responsibility of our local councils. Although the quality of the service they can deliver is very much determined by whether the Scottish Government, the Executive, provides enough money.

Although I certainly receive a fair number of contacts about school issues, the numbers are far outweighed by those on health.

Because it increasingly seems that the National health service is in poor health. Just like too many people all across Scotland. And it is unlikely that we can improve the health of our people without racking up the quality of our health service.

The health minister, Malcolm Chisholm – who carries the sobriquet “Jessie” in the Parliamentary press gallery – has, in fairness, not sought to hide some of the problems.

For example, he has acknowledged that cancer services are way below the standards of achievement elsewhere in the ‘developed’ world. And I believe he has honestly set out to do something about it.

The Beatson in Glasgow is an institution with a world class reputation. In part, I imagine, due to the astonishment of international visitors at what can be achieved in decrepit Victorian buildings.

But that is changing and new premises are partly commissioned.

Is it too little and too late?

In a world where cancer specialists are in very short supply, resignations have made the headlines over the last couple of years. New doctors have been reluctant to come to a hospital, however great its past achievements, if that meant substantially harder work to make up for the present shortfall in staff numbers.

Determined efforts by health managers and tightly focussed support by the Minister have to led to what may be the beginning of a turn-around.

But the Beatson is not alone. It is merely more in the public eye, perhaps more in the eye of the press, than most parts of the health service.

And although the Minister might, just might, be achieving improvements, welcome improvements, at the Beatson, the picture elsewhere is dismal.

A recent sequence of answers to questions I have posed is revealing.

The problems with lack of dentists in the North East is not something with which we are unfamiliar.

While in Manchester they have one dentist for just over 1,000 people and Edinburgh is near one for every 2,000, we crunch along with a ratio around one for 4,000. And the shortage means that lists for NHS patients are all but closed. Even private dentists’ lists are closing.

So just how aware are the Scottish Government – and their Liberal and Labour backbenchers – of the problem?

Question – how many 16-year-olds have dental decay? Government answer – don’t know. That is answer S2W-2032 in case you want to see the complete wording.

Question – how much do dentists earn from the NHS? Government – don’t know. (S2W-2355)

Question – how long do people have to wait to get on a dentist’s list? Government – don’t know. (S2W-626)

Question – how many people are waiting to get on an NHS dentist’s list? Government – don’t know. (S2W-625)

Question – how many foreign dentists are working temporarily for the NHS? Government – don’t know. (S2W-2356)

Question – how far do patients have to travel to get NHS dental treatment? Government – don’t know. (S2W-2352)

And most astonishingly – How many dentists are there? Government – don’t know. (S2W-2353)

But they seem to know that there is a problem. For over a year there has been a “Golden Hello” scheme to provide extra payments to dental practices who – somehow – manage to recruit an additional dentist.

It can pay up to £10,000 over three years to these lucky practices.

So how many payments have been made? Six in total. In the health board areas of Forth Valley, Lothian, Greater Glasgow and Dumfries & Galloway.

Absolutely none in Grampian or Highland which it appears are the worst served areas.

When the depth of ignorance about dental provision is revealed by Parliamentary answers, one has to wonder whether there is a NATIONAL health service at all. There is certainly little evidence of one for dental health.

So it is all OK elsewhere then?

Perhaps not. GP vacancies are rising too. Around 50 across Scotland – I await the definitive figures but that is what ‘insiders’ say – and rising. And once again it seems that these shortages are concentrated in our remoter communities where access to hospital emergency services is much more difficult than in our cities.

Maybe the Government fails collect the data on our failing NHS because it already knows the answers.

Whatever we think about that, it is clear the problems are deep-rooted.