NHS Wales unveils plans to introduce more dental services from 1st July
The chief executive of NHS Wales has unveiled plans to provide a wider range of dental services from the 1st July.
Dr Andrew Goodall confirmed that many patients who have experienced pain and other severe symptoms during lockdown will be able to receive treatment at local dental clinics from the beginning of July.
Speaking at the latest press briefing, Dr Goodall said that it was crucial to try and get services running again, but stressed the importance of moving gradually. Staging a mass reopening with all services available could carry significant risks to patients and staff, and Dr Goodall is keen to phase the return for patients to ensure safety.
Although dental staff are trained in infection control and familiar with PPE, Covid-19 poses a unique threat, and some dental services are more dangerous than others, due to the fact that they release spray. For this reason, it may be months before routine treatments like fillings are available.
The Welsh Government has faced criticism in recent weeks for failing to open surgeries sooner, with a Cardiff dentist writing an open letter to Mark Drakeford, the First Minister, to highlight the concerns of some 500 practitioners. The dentists claimed that keeping practices closed would contribute to a crisis in the months and years to come. While some will welcome a July return, others will want to push on further and restore routine services earlier than 2021.
Under a phased reopening, dentists will first treat those in urgent need of help. Urgent dental hubs will continue to operate. The final phase, for which there is currently no date, will see routine services resume. At present, there is a possibility that this stage will not take place until next year.
Dr Goodall highlighted the work of emergency dental centres, which have been set up across the UK since high street clinics closed. In Wales, dentists have treated over 11,500 people in local urgent care centres and provided over 140,000 virtual consultations.
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