Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Health – in the House of Commons am 2:30 pm ar 24 Mawrth 2009.
Laurence Robertson
Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
2:30,
24 Mawrth 2009
It is difficult to calculate how many people are registered with an NHS dentist since the new contract was established. Perhaps the Minister could give us some idea of how many people are registered in Gloucestershire and nationally. Registration is patchy. In my Tewkesbury Constituency a relatively small number of people are registered with NHS dentists, even when compared to other constituencies in Gloucestershire and especially when the national figure is taken into account. What can the Minister do to help the local PCT to increase that number?
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
Primary care is a term used to describe community-based health services which are usually the first (and often the only) point of contact that patients make within the NHS. It covers services provided by family doctors (GPs), community and practice nurses, community therapists (physio, occupational, etc.), pharmacists, chiropodists, optometrists, and dentists.
A Primary Care Trust in the NHS is a regional body in the NHS, catering to a specific geographical region, which is responsible for providing primary care to the individuals within that area.
These primary care trusts have budgetary responsibility, and are tasked by the Department of Health with improving the health of the community, securing the provision of high quality services, and integrating health and social care locally.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
