Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure access to NHS dentistry for the residents of Langholm, in light of reports that a dental practice in Langholm will be closing and NHS patients will be deregistered.
We are working closely with the Board and a Task Force has been set up to help the Board address local access issues. Unregistered patients will continue to be able to access emergency and urgent care via the Public Dental Service.
Scottish Government has also put in place a set of recruitment and retention incentives which pay £25,000 over a two year period to newly qualified dentists and those returning to the workforce after a five-year period, who wish to provide NHS dental care in Dumfries and Galloway. Grant funding of up to £100,000 is available to dentists that wish to establish a new, or expand or purchase an existing, NHS dental practice within the Board area.
We are also working apace on payments reform which will comprise a new, modernised system that will provide NHS dental teams with greater clinical discretion, and transparency for NHS patients. We are confident that this will help to sustain and increase NHS dental access as we move forward.