That the Parliament recognises the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the provision of dental services; thanks all NHS dentists, dental nurses and wider staff for their efforts to provide dental care for the people of Scotland; supports the reform of the NHS dentistry payment system to ensure that the recovery that has been seen in the last year can be built upon; understands that the bridging and multiplier arrangements supported significant increases in activity; notes that, since the start of the pandemic, dentistry has been provided with over £150 million of additional support to sustain the sector; further notes that 95.4% of people in Scotland are registered with a dentist, an increase of 44.3% since 2007; commends the work of the Childsmile programme, which is delivering preventative efforts to improve dental health now and in the future; welcomes the abolition of NHS dental charges for everyone under the age of 26, and supports the removal of all such charges by the end of the current parliamentary session.
Result 65 for, 55 against, 0 abstained, 9 did not vote Vote Passed
Scottish National Party
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Scottish Labour
Scottish Green Party
Scottish Liberal Democrats
No Party Affiliation
That the Parliament believes that there is a crisis in NHS dentistry; notes that the number of NHS dental check-ups and treatments being conducted are dramatically below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels; further notes with concern that the number of dentists who are carrying out NHS work has fallen in 11 NHS boards, with the chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee warning of a “wholescale exodus” from the sector; understands that most dentists are not accepting new NHS patients and that polling has shown that many of those registered have been unable to get appointments; believes that the lack of government action to resolve this is leaving people in pain and will cause wider mouth health issues to be missed, and calls on the Scottish Government to rewrite the NHS Recovery Plan so that it includes dentistry fully and properly recognises the importance of dentists in the course of the recovery, and to urgently reform the funding structures so that dentists can return to taking on NHS activity and enable more patients to be seen.
Submitted by: Maree Todd, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party, Date lodged: Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Supported by: Kevin Stewart, Humza Yousaf
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Result 67 for, 53 against, 0 abstained, 9 did not vote Vote Passed
Submitted by: Dr Sandesh Gulhane, Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date lodged: Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Result 53 for, 67 against, 0 abstained, 9 did not vote Vote Defeated
Submitted by: Paul Sweeney, Glasgow, Scottish Labour, Date lodged: Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Supported by: Jackie Baillie
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, February 8, 2023