Cwestiwn ysgrifenedig WQ83086

Health Boards have the budget and responsibility for the provision of dental services to meet local needs and the wider oral health agenda. This gives them the ability to fund and develop services to reflect local requirements and priorities.

It is typically the case that dental practices will keep their own waiting list and accept new NHS patients when capacity permits. It is important to note access to dental services fluctuates, being dependent on the capacity of individual practices and contractual commitments which can and does change on a regular basis. In certain circumstances, if access to routine dental care becomes more difficult some Health Boards may operate a central database of patients seeking NHS dentistry.

We are making good progress with the recovery of dental services but dentistry is one of the most complex areas of primary care in terms of the reinstatement of services.

Dental services remain in the Amber phase of recovery. In this phase, dental practices are now providing a full range of care and treatment for patients, including aerosol generating procedures such as fillings. However, as Covid-19 is still in circulation public health measures - physical distancing, enhanced PPE, and infection control requirements - mean fewer patients can be ‘seen’ in a clinical session.

There is a clear requirement to see patients according to need. Practices have been asked to treat people who have experienced problems during lockdown first. We also need to prioritise care for those who had treatment delayed as a result of the pandemic.

If capacity allows in a practice which has been active in addressing urgent problems to date, ‘routine assessments’ can be offered. However, there is a need to manage patient expectations as throughput will be reduced and practices could be overwhelmed by requests for ‘routine check-ups’.

We have worked with Health Boards to ensure that as part of the recovery of services, measures are included to ensure dental practices see new patients. If dental treatment is urgent or the patient is in pain there is provision in place to provide care quickly. However, there will be a delay for new patients looking for routine care. Management of the expected longer waits many patients will experience is unfortunately an inevitable consequence of the pandemic.

Powys Teaching Health Board is also in the process of setting up a dedicated dental help line to facilitate patient queries about accessing services. The Health Board will be able to advise which practices are accepting new patients and the likely time patients will need to wait for an appointment.