The Health Secretary, Steve Barclay yesterday announced a programme of reforms to NHS Dental services following West Dorset MP Chris Loder’s question in the House of Commons, urging the Minister to help address the problem of NHS Dental service capacity in West Dorset.
Chris said: “West Dorset has experienced issues regarding accessibility of NHS Dentists” and asked what the Health Secretary what he is doing to help restore dental services for those in West Dorset who need it.
The package outlined by the Health Secretary on the 19th July stated that new reforms to the dental contract – the first such reforms in 16 years, will mean dental therapists will also be able to accept patients for NHS treatments, providing fillings, sealants, preventative care for adults and children, which will free up dentists’ time for urgent and complex cases.
In March last year, the Government asked NHS England to lead on the next stage of dental system reform to deliver better outcomes for patients and better support dentists.
The new reforms will ensure that dentists, who are operating at full capacity for the first time in two years, will be able to recover dental services following the impact of the pandemic.
Chris continued: “While there is of course more work to be done, this is a good step forward in terms of freeing up Dentist availability and streamlining the overall service to ensure that those in urgent need of treatment are seen to. I will be following this closely and making sure these changes deliver the improvements we need to see in West Dorset”
