Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Health to detail any steps he will take to ensure patients do not have to seek private treatment due to the level of NHS dental services availability.
Minister of Health: Access to General Dental Services is challenging across Northern Ireland at present and the Department is aware that some patients, particularly those not currently registered with a dentist, are finding it more difficult to obtain an appointment with a Health Service dentist.
General Dental Practitioners are self-employed, independent contractors. Under General Dental Services Regulations, practitioners are free to choose the amount of time they dedicate to Health Service dentistry and to make their own decisions about where to establish practices. Neither myself nor my Department can intervene in this regard.
My Department’s Health and Social Care NI three-year plan includes a commitment to the reform of General Dental Services. An action plan and programme of work toward this reform will be in place by April 2027. While that work is progressed, consideration is being given to other actions which could be taken to improve access to Health Service dental care for both registered and unregistered patients.
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