AQW 11598/22-27

Mr Peter McReynolds
Alliance Party
East Belfast

Tabled Date: 09/05/2024
Answered On Date: 23/05/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health whether his Department will consider introducing regulations to ensure NHS dental patients continue to avail of NHS dentistry if their allocated dentist retires or moves practice.

Answer:

The legislation proposed would not be possible under the current General Dental Services Contract. General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) are independent contractors and are not contractually obliged to register new Health Service (HS) patients. Individual GDPs will have varying number of HS patients on their lists, and many will have both HS and private patients.

Usually when a GDP retires, moves practice, or ceases provision of HS dental care, their (former) practice will attempt to redistribute the patients on that GDPs list to other GDPs in the practice, or to other practices in the local area.

A key part of the access issues facing patients has been the rates being paid to our dentists for treatment. In March, I announced a 6% pay uplift for General Dental Services for 2023/24, alongside a 7.3% uplift to non-staff expenses for 2023/24, with a 3% recurrent award in future years. I have also announced a £9.2m investment package for General Dental Services.