6. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Dental Reform

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:14 pm on 14 March 2023.

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Photo of Rhianon Passmore Rhianon Passmore Labour 5:14, 14 March 2023

Minister, thank you for the statement, and I'm heartened that you state that dentistry is one of your top priorities. And even before COVID, it has had a long and chequered past since deregistration. I think we all realise that. For many of my constituents, NHS dentistry, though, still remains incomprehensible at times. I do welcome the many new initiatives in dentistry that you and Welsh Government have introduced, and those bearing fruit. That is welcomed, as are the new 140,000 patients now seen. I have, though, listened carefully to the concerns expressed by some dentists that, under the UDA model and the new model called 'metrics', the Government is still emphasising the number of different patients seen, and that there seems to be no credit for the specific course of treatment undertaken, i.e. no differentiation between either a complex bridge or a simple filling, and it's stated that the only credit given is that the individual patient was seen and has had a course of treatment. So, how would the Welsh Government respond to that observation, that this is still a rather crude form of analysis that does not concentrate the focus on the expertise of dentists and the skilled personalised work that they undertake? And what consultation, Minister, has been undertaken with the dentistry profession on this new and innovative model of working?