Overhaul of Welsh NHS dental system recommended

The National Assembly for Wales has released a report, endorsed by the British Dental Association, that recommends sweeping changes to the Welsh NHS dental system. The report recommends, amongst other things, that the Welsh government replaces the current UDA (units of dental activity) targets with a more flexible system for monitoring outcomes focused on prevention and quality of treatment, and that the Welsh government assesses the robustness of the UK-wide recruitment system for recruiting those living in Wales, and retention of students post training. The current system, under which the annual amount paid for dental work is the same regardless of the number of dental procedures undertaken, offers no incentive for dentists to have patients with more complicated cases in their practice, exacerbating the current poor access to dental services in some areas.
Chair of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, Dai Lloyd, said: “What is clear to this committee is that the current NHS contract arrangements for dentists simply aren’t working. Paying someone the same amount to deliver a course of treatment on a patient regardless of the amount of work involved makes little sense. Therefore this committee believes it is time to end the current arrangements and find a new way of making sure everyone in Wales has access to quality dental services regardless of where they are.”
Chair of the BDA’s Welsh General Dental Practice Committee, Dr Tom Bysouth, said: “We want to thank the Committee for providing the unvarnished facts about NHS dentistry in Wales. On access and on care for our most deprived communities, this system has failed on every front, and has fuelled a collapse in morale among the profession. We are pleased this committee recognises the need to consign this discredited system to the dustbin of history.”