Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential relationship between the availability of NHS dentistry appointments and patient access to bone-strengthening medication to treat cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the Department has not made a formal assessment, some integrated care boards (ICBs) may be looking at this, using the flexible commissioning model opportunity to meet the needs of their populations. Cancer services remain a priority for ICBs.
The Government has implemented a package of reforms to improve access to National Health Service dental care, which has had an effect with more patients being seen and a 23% increase in NHS activity in the past year. We know we need to do more, and the Department’s Dentistry Recovery Plan will be published shortly, setting out a big package of change.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the early detection of mouth cancer in the North East.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Every dental check-up constitutes as an oral cancer screening. Dentists and other dental professionals, including hygienists, routinely check the soft tissues of a patient’s mouth for signs of cancer during dental visits, and as part of the check-up, will make an assessment and record an individual’s oral cancer risk. Dentists will prioritise patients at a higher risk of cancer for more frequent recall and review, in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance.
In November 2022, the Government introduced a new package of measures across England, including the North East, to improve patient access to dental care. The measures include fairer pay for all National Health Service dentists to provide more complex dental care to those who need it most, and a requirement on dentists to update the NHS website regularly to make it clear which practices are taking on new patients and the services available, improving access.
To improve early detection of cancer, including oral cancer, we are implementing NHS England’s comprehensive early diagnosis strategy, which is based on six core strands of activity, from raising awareness of cancer symptoms and encouraging people to come forward, to implementing targeted interventions for particular cancer types that we know have previously experienced later stages of diagnosis, including oral cancers. NHS England has published an NHS mouth cancer awareness leaflet for dental teams, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/mouth-cancer/
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential relationship between oral cancer detection rates and the availability of dentists.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Every dental check-up constitutes as an oral cancer screening. The NHS Dental statistics for England, 2022-23, Annual report highlights that 1.8 million adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist in the 24 months up to 30 June 2023, with 24,151 dentists performing NHS activity during 2022/23.
NHS England’s comprehensive Early Diagnosis strategy is based on six core strands of activity, from raising awareness of cancer symptoms and encouraging people to come forward, to implementing targeted interventions for particular cancer types that we know have previously experienced later stages of diagnosis, including oral cancers.
We encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice or are worried about symptoms that could be cancer. NHS England is running the ‘Help Us, Help You’ (HUHY) campaign, which seeks to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the NHS. The current HUHY campaign is focused on addressing fear of cancer as a barrier to presentation across all cancer types.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing free dental care to all cancer patients.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We have no current plans to make a specific assessment.
There are a range of exemptions to National Health Service dental patient charges. Further information is available on the NHS website at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/dental-costs/get-help-with-dental-costs/
Asked by: Andrew Western (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing free dentistry to people with cancer.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No assessment has been made.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that cancer patients have access to dental services.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
National Health Service dentists have been asked to maximise safe throughput to meet as many prioritised needs as possible, focussing first on urgent care and vulnerable groups followed by overdue appointments. Patients undergoing treatment for cancer should therefore be prioritised for treatment.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 17 March 2020 to Question 27030 on Cancer: Dental Services, what progress NHS England has made on improving access to dentistry for cancer patients.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
National Health Service dentists have been asked to maximise safe treatment to meet as many prioritised needs as possible, focussing first on urgent care and vulnerable groups followed by overdue appointments. Patients undergoing treatment for cancer may have a depressed immune system and a higher need for dental care, so should be prioritised for treatment.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing free dental care for people with cancer through the NHS.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No recent assessment has been made. People with cancer are able to apply for help with National Health Service dental charges on a range of grounds, including partial help through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Nearly half of all NHS dental patients, approximately 17.7 million people, were treated free of charge in the 2019/20 financial year.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of making dental care free for cancer patients.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No recent assessment has been made. People with cancer are able to apply for help with National Health Service dental charges on a range of grounds, including partial help through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Nearly half of all NHS dental patients, approximately 17.7 million people, were treated free of charge in the 2019/20 financial year.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the projection by Cancer Research that cases of oral cancer will rise by 33 per cent from 2014 to 2035, whether his Department has plans to (a) promote and (b) increase the public's awareness of dental services available to support the diagnosis of that cancer.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made. Whilst dentists play a valuable role in detecting potential oral cancers through dental check-ups. Patients with concerns should seek advice from their dentist or general practitioner.