Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 20 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered establishing a payments system to reimburse NHS dentists for scheduled appointments where patients do not attend, in order to safeguard the financial viability of practices.
There is already existing discretion within NHS arrangements for dentists to charge patients for late cancellations and missed appointments, in accordance with their business need.
As circumstances may vary considerably between practices with respect to demography, registered patient numbers and other key determinants for the viability or necessity of additional charging, it would not be appropriate to implement a national policy on such matters.