6. What is the Welsh Government doing to monitor the waiting times for access to orthodontic treatment in Wales? OAQ54428

Wales is the first country in the UK to introduce electronic dental referrals across all dental specialities, including orthodontics. This means the source, complexity and volume of referrals will be known by health boards. The e-referral system will improve the quality of referrals and reduce patient waiting times for treatment.

Thank you, Trefnydd. I welcome your comments there about the e-referrals system. It's estimated that about 25,000 people in Wales are currently waiting for orthodontic treatment, and the lists in most parts of the country are two to three years long. This picture is complicated by some health boards having no direct provision and cases of multiple referral, as the health committee discovered in their recent inquiry. As you refer to, May saw the introduction of this electronic referral system, which I would hope should give us a more accurate picture, which is, of course, the first step towards tackling the waiting lists and improving the service. How is this system bedding in and when does the Welsh Government think that it would be possible to set target waiting times in order to improve the service?

The electronic referral system is doing well. There has been really high take-up of it with 98.6 per cent of dentists already using that system, and they're reporting that it's easy to use, that it works well and it does make life easier for them, but also, importantly, for their patients and for the hospital consultants. For the first time, patients themselves are able to track their referrals online, and so they're able to feel and be more involved and informed about their care. Even though it is only early days, more than 20,000 referrals have gone through the system already, and around a third of those have been for orthodontics.

There are no waiting-time targets for primary care services, including orthodontics, however, within 12 months of the roll-out commencing, health boards will have the details of the source, complexity and volume of all referrals to all dental specialities, and that then will help support health boards to take evidence-informed planning decisions on the provision of services. The more robust referral process will also make it easier to identify local service delivery and practice-level training needs as well, because, as Vikki Howells referred to, some cases of multiple referrals have been identified and the system will be able to ensure that those kinds of things don't keep happening.

Of course, the e-referral system is a very positive step forward in terms of reducing waiting times in the Cynon valley and throughout the rest of Wales. However, another one of the problems we have is a crucial shortage of orthodontists. What's the Welsh Government doing to recruit more orthodontists?

The Welsh Government's aware of the issues in terms of our ability to recruit orthodontists, and it's certainly an issue that the health Minister's very alive to, and I know that he'll have more to say on this tomorrow, when he replies to a debate on this subject.