SNP DELIVERS FOR NORTH EAST DENTISTRY

SNP DELIVERS FOR NORTH EAST DENTISTRY

DENTAL SCHOOL REVERSES OPPOSITION NEGLECT

SNP MSPs for Aberdeen and the North East of Scotland have today welcomed the official opening of the Aberdeen Dental School at Foresterhill, Aberdeen.

The £20 million University of Aberdeen Dental School and Hospital will be opened by First Minister Alex Salmond and Public Health Minister Shona Robison.

SNP MSP for Aberdeen North Brian Adam said:

“The Scottish Government and NHS Grampian are investing in North East dentistry to tackle the long waiting lists and poor oral hygiene in Aberdeen and Grampian which this Government inherited.

“Since the SNP came to power we have seen the number of dentists in Grampian rise to 304, with an increase of 21 last year and nearly 8,000 people have been taken off the waiting list.

"This state of the art dental school will see 20 new dentists graduate every year from Aberdeen. Hopefully we can retain these dentists in Grampian and with their help make those long queues of people signing up to a dentist a thing of the past.

Commenting before attending the opening, North East MSP Maureen Watt said:

“Dentistry in the North East saw years of neglect under the previous administration, a trend that the SNP Government has been determined to reverse.

“The number of people in the Grampian area registered with an NHS dentist has increased by 42,520 since 2007 and the Aberdeen Dental School will help improve that figure further. There is still some distance to go, but the decline of the previous administration has been reversed and once again the SNP are delivering for people in the North East.”

Her fellow North East MSP Nigel Don added:

“I am delighted that the opening of the new dental school will improve dental facilities for people in Aberdeen, and the North East. The inclusion of a 3-chair dental surgery in the new primary care health centre is a much-needed boost to dental facilities for people living in the city and brings a welcome increase to the number of dentists working in the North East.

“The £3 million investment in the centre is testimony to the Government's commitment to improving dental facilities in the North East”