How is the Welsh Government working with health boards and dentists to ensure that those waiting long periods to secure a dental appointment receive suitable support?
We are working with the NHS to improve access to NHS dentistry, to reach a position where everyone who wants NHS care can receive it.
We are reforming the dental contract and reorientating NHS dentistry towards a system that which focuses on prevention and the provision of treatment based on risk and need.
Since April 2022 practices have been offered a variation to their units of dental activity (UDA) contract, which includes the requirement to provide treatment to new patients. Since April 2022, more than 468,000 new patients have gained access to an NHS dentist across Wales under these arrangements.
However, we know some people are experiencing difficulties accessing NHS dentistry if they do not have an ongoing relationship with an NHS dentist. To make this easier, we developed the Dental Access Portal to enable people to register their interest in receiving NHS dental care. This provides health boards with a clear understanding of need in their area and enables them to manage the allocation of people to dental practices as capacity becomes available. It also removes the need for people to ring around multiple practices to find an NHS dentist.
A substantive new dental contract, which continues to incentivise new patient access, is the key to long-term improvement. We developed proposals following more than a year of discussion and negotiation with the NHS and representatives from the dental profession. I am considering the feedback we received to the consultation before setting out the next steps.