Question reference: S6W-01635
- Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 21 July 2021
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Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 August 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of dental surgeries in Annan, Kirkcudbright, Dumfries, Newton Stewart and other locations in the South Scotland region temporarily suspending the acceptance of NHS dental patients due to a backlog of treatments as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, what action is being taken to (a) support such dental surgeries and (b) ensure that NHS dental patients have access to timely dental treatment, and, further to the Scottish National Party's manifesto commitment to abolish NHS dentistry charges, whether it will provide an update on its progress on this matter.
Answer
The Scottish Government has recently announced a suite of measures to continue to support NHS dentistry, including a vital funding package of up to £5M for improved ventilation in dental premises, and an extension of free PPE for the dental sector, which from this month has increased by up to 50%. This builds on the continued phased remobilisation of NHS dental services, ensuring that as many patients can be seen within the current set of infection, protection and control measures required for the safe operation of dental treatment.
NHS dental services are largely provided by independent dental contractors. Information on appointments is held by each individual dental practice.
The removal of all dental charges for NHS dental treatment is a Scottish Government manifesto commitment and more detail will be published in due course. These changes will take place in the lifetime of this parliament and the processes are currently underway.