Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 23 February 2022
23 Feb 2022 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
National Health Service Dentistry
We are here today to have a frank debate on the state of NHS dentistry in Scotland in 2022. For sure, Covid-19 has hit dentistry hard, with practices being closed during the early months of the pandemic. Although the service has resumed, infection control measures continue to limit the number of patients that dentists can see in any given hour. Those are serious obstacles, which I will cover more later in my speech.
We should also recognise that, for more than a decade, since well before the pandemic, the Scottish Government’s model for engaging with dentists has been flawed. It is wedded to the old system. There is a lack of focus on prevention, with some regulations even being based on outdated practice. Over the years, the Scottish Government has shown little appetite for reform. In fact—this is typical of how the Scottish Government works—it gave practices and the British Dental Association only one working day’s notice before introducing free dentistry for people under the age of 26.
As things stand, the situation is bleak. The BDA surveyed its members and found that a third intend to leave the profession during the next 12 months.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone)
NPA
I remind members of the Covid-related measures that are in place and of the fact that face coverings should be worn when moving around the chamber and across...
Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
We are here today to have a frank debate on the state of NHS dentistry in Scotland in 2022. For sure, Covid-19 has hit dentistry hard, with practices being c...
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care (Humza Yousaf)
SNP
Does the member recognise that abolishing dental charges was in the Scottish National Party’s manifesto? We had a whole section on dentistry. Why did his par...
Sandesh Gulhane
Con
The cabinet secretary needs to think about how businesses work. One working day’s notice is absolutely not enough to allow them to work. Indeed, there is a ...
The Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport (Maree Todd)
SNP
If the member believes that the emergency package that was brought in two years ago to support the dental sector through the pandemic is so flawed, why is he...
Sandesh Gulhane
Con
I will come on to that in great detail, but essentially—Interruption. I will tell members if they care to listen. Essentially, it is because we need root-and...
The Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport (Maree Todd)
SNP
I thank Sandesh Gulhane for raising the important matter of patient access to NHS dental care. The dental sector has been disproportionately impacted by the ...
Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Con
What assessment has the Government made of the impact of the decision to remove the financial top-up support for NHS dentistry from 1 April?
Maree Todd
SNP
I will explain. What we have done is to very carefully avoid a cliff edge. We are not simply removing that support; we are replacing it with a system that re...
Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
What does the minister say to the British Dental Association, which says that her Government’s approach could spell the end of NHS dentistry in Scotland?
Maree Todd
SNP
This Government is unashamedly putting patients first in our thinking about how dental services are delivered. In order to ensure that people in Scotland hav...
Sandesh Gulhane
Con
It is interesting, because there is a total lack of a financial package. I wonder if the minister has simply outlined right there a new support measure that ...
Maree Todd
SNP
I am very pleased to hear that commitment from my Conservative colleagues. It is absolutely wonderful to have cross-party support for free NHS dental care fo...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Con
Will the minister take an intervention?
Maree Todd
SNP
I ask the member to let me continue and set out the financial package that we have put in place in order to support that. We have committed to tackling the ...
Maree Todd
SNP
I have let Dr Gulhane intervene. I ask him to let me proceed and set out what financial support we are giving our dentists. That funding announcement is par...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Please conclude, minister.
Maree Todd
SNP
I will. We are putting in place a number of vital processes. We must link financial support to dentistry—to seeing patients. We must reward NHS dental teams...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Minister, I must stop you there, but I ask you to move your amendment.
Maree Todd
SNP
I move amendment S6M-03281.2, to leave out from “with concern” to end and insert: “the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of healthcare, not lea...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Lab
I never thought that I would stand here and say that the very existence of NHS dentistry in Scotland is currently under threat. The Government’s complacency ...
Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
Will the member take an intervention?
Jackie Baillie
Lab
I will in a second. Let me translate that for the Government: “reduce their NHS commitment” means do the same work but in a private setting, and that will s...
Humza Yousaf
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Jackie Baillie
Lab
I am very conscious of the time; I apologise to the people who want to intervene. Only yesterday, I was contacted by a woman who raised the issue of appoint...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
You should conclude, Ms Baillie.
Jackie Baillie
Lab
The Government should consult before it stops support, or NHS dentistry will fall off a cliff edge and end up being privatised on the SNP’s watch. I move am...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
I am grateful to Dr Gulhane for securing time to debate this important matter in Parliament today. As we know, it is estimated that around 5 million people ...
Maree Todd
SNP
I have made it fairly clear that the practice of asking for deposits in advance of NHS appointments is not allowed. We have asked private dental practices to...
Alex Cole-Hamilton
LD
I am grateful that the minister and the Government are taking that seriously. In particular, people have got in touch with me about being unable to arrange ...