Recommendation 9

HM Government Not Addressed

The Chief Dental Officer for England’s remit extends to clinical policy and does not cover operational delivery or contracting, which sits with the Department of Health & Social Care and the NHS. This assessment has focussed on the restoration of primary dental care services, this is not to diminish or dismiss the range of issues relating to specialist dental care or access to secondary care. This would be subject to a separate analysis. The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly challenged the delivery of safe dental care as much as it has proved a challenging time for the dental sector. We asked the dental profession to temporarily cease face-to-face dental care in the interests of public safety. In accepting this significant ask and then tackling the complexities of resuming face to face dental care in the new COVID-19 landscape the dental profession has remained steadfast to the principles of patient care and compassion. In stepping up to the challenges and stepping into new roles and new responsibilities I continue to be extremely proud of our profession’s response to the crisis. The postponement of elective dental care, at the outset of the pandemic, prompted over 18,000 dental professional volunteers to register to support surge capacity whilst others re- orientated their practices and teams to support patients via remote dental consultations. The NHS delivered a national urgent dental care system of remote consultation and has staffed over 600 NHS urgent dental care (UDC) hubs. This collective endeavour has ensured timely access to advice and treatment. The majority of these UDC hubs were set up and run by general dental practitioners and their dental teams. These committed teams of dental professionals have continued to provide contingency access to urgent dental care throughout the Summer and Autumn of 2020. The vast majority of dental practices are now open for face to face care and they have remained open throughout the re-imposition of national restrictions (04 November – 02 December 2020). Our clinical focus remains: • addressing patients’ oral health needs that have increased, developed or gone unmet during the initial phase of the pandemic • ensuring face to face urgent dental care is available • reviewing interrupted patient care pathways and restarting where appropriate • ensuring that patients who normally attend the practice are prioritised for care in terms of their risk. 4. We recommend that Sara Hurley (Chief Dental Officer for England) sets out her Between June and November, we saw improvements in access with an expanding range of assessment of the challenges facing dentistry services in England, and clarifies what treatments being offered. Approximately 45% of NHS face-to-face dental care is for urgent steps will be taken to ensure dentistry services are able to continue to be restored dental care. Work continues with the British Dental Association (BDA) on future contract to meet patient demand in the safest possible way whilst also remaining financially mechanisms with the intention of introducing a link to delivery of activity and outcomes. sustainable. (Paragraph 68) The plan for the resumption of dental services in England was published in the Transition to Recovery SOP (4 June 2020). A graduated approach to the resumption of the full complement of dental care provision has been shaped by the necessary compliance with national Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) requirements and a full appreciation of