Issue - meetings

30 minutes

The Board to receive a presentation on primary dental services in Bath and North East Somerset.

Victoria Stanley, Programme Lead: Pharmacy, Optometry and Dentistry, ICB

Victoria Stanley (Programme Lead: Pharmacy, Optometry and Dentistry ICB) gave a presentation on primary dental services in Bath and North East Somerset including an update on the new Government National Dental Recovery Plan which had been published on 7 February and covered funding arrangements, encouraging dental clinicians to work for the NHS, providing additional resources for oral health improvement and setting out the steps to make accessing dental care easier and faster (updated presentation attached as an appendix to these minutes).

The following comments were raised by Board Members:

1.  It was noted that dentists were independent businesses and had no obligation to hold lists of patients. Patients were not registered with a dentist in the same way they were with a GP and dentists could meet contractual obligations by recalling patients more frequently than required.

2.  It was noted that recruitment and retention was a challenge and there was a need to consider working with the nearby workforce providers for B&NES.

3.  In relation to the priority of prevention, it was important to consider how to bring dental colleagues in to work alongside other health care providers.

4.  It was noted that the challenges facing dental provision was a national issue and the situation in B&NES was better than a lot of other areas including Swindon and Wiltshire.

The Board RESOLVED to note the presentation and note that further information would be available later in the year.