The plight of NHS dentistry in Dumfries and Galloway has been raised at Holyrood.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats revealed there were 10 fewer NHS dentists operating in the region in the first part of 2022/23 compared to 2019/20, with 11 of the country’s 14 health boards seeing a fall in numbers.
That led to Lib Dem chief Alex Cole-Hamilton leading a Holyrood debate on the “crisis” facing NHS dentistry.
He said: “The situation is dire right across the country.
“ Eleven health boards recorded patients having to wait more than a year for treatment.
“A freedom of information request to health boards showed that dentists submitted about 3.2 million claims for NHS work between January and November last year.
“That sounds like quite a lot, but if we compare that with the 5.6million claims for NHS dental work in 2019, we start to understand the quantum of the problem and the fall-away in dental work.
“Put simply, many people either are forced to wait months for NHS dental treatment or are unable to access NHS care at all. In rural communities, the situation is even more acute.
“In Orkney and Shetland, the number of NHS dental claims has fallen by more than 50 per cent, while many practices in Dumfries and Galloway have closed their doors to NHS work entirely.
“The warning lights are well and truly on, and they are blinking, but the government’s response has been achingly slow.”
Public Health Minister Maree Todd responded that an extra £150m had been provided to dentistry since the start of the pandemic.
She said: “I am sure that everyone in the chamber will recognise that NHS dental services have undergone a significant and prolonged period of recovery. Members will recall that patient access to NHS dental services was severely reduced during the pandemic, as sensible public health precautions were required
to mitigate the possible transmission of Covid-19 in dental
surgeries.
“We are seeing encouraging signs of improving patient access to care.”
Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Finlay Carson asked Health Minister Humza Yousaf what action was being taken to stop more NHS dentists going private.
Mr Yousaf replied: “A number of interventions have been tried and tested.
“There has been some return for those investments, but not much, which I accept. I know that the board has assembled a local dental task force, and we expect detail imminently on the next steps that will be proposed for Dumfries and Galloway.”
Dumfries and Galloway has suffered a series of blows to NHS dental provision in recent years.
Two practices in Castle Douglas closed in the space of 15 months, with one in Newton Stewart also ceasing to operate.
