Written question WQ97549
- Asked by
- Joel JamesConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 6 days
Question
How will NHS dental practices be compensated for patients who miss appointments under the new dental contract?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Under the current Units of Dental Activity contract, dental practices are not compensated at all for missed appointments.
In the new dental contract, dental practices will be paid in full for new urgent patient appointments if the patient does not turn up and if the health board fails to identify a patient for a pre-agreed urgent appointment slot.
This change will provide significantly improved financial security for dental practices. We are also working with the dental profession to identify best practice in mitigating failure to attend and will publish the findings from that work to support a consistent approach to managing this issue across NHS dentistry in Wales.