Following the announcement that dental hygienists and dental therapists will be granted new powers, the government shares the rationale behind this decision and the impact it hopes it will have.
Announced yesterday (28 March), the government has revealed plans for dental hygienists and therapists to supply and administer certain types of medicines without sign off from a dentist.
The government claims this will this move will streamline processes within dental practices, improve patient experiences and relieve NHS dental access issues.
Here, primary care minister Andrea Leadsom shares what this announcement means and the other measures the government is implementing to improve access to dental services.
Minister Leadsom on latest announcement
Dental hygienists and therapists are an essential part of the workforce who can help make access to dentistry faster, simpler and fairer.
That is why I’m delighted to announce that, from [28 March], new powers are being given to these important NHS staff to supply and administer medicines as part of our ongoing commitment to improve access to primary care.
Last year, we launched a public consultation and 97% of those who responded were in favour of the proposals.
Under the plans, fully trained dental hygienists and therapists will be able to administer some anaesthetics and fluoride varnish treatments without the need for sign off from a dentist.
Many hygienists and therapists will already be familiar with the administration of these medicines, making this a common-sense improvement. We want all our highly-qualified staff to work to the top of their training, streamlining access to dental care and improving patient experience.
Ultimately, we hope this will free up time across practices and enable dental teams to see more patients.
Improving the experience of staff and patients
As Minister for Start of Life and Primary Care, I know how important it is that everyone has access to high quality dental care, right from birth.
Giving more power to dental hygienists and therapists is just the latest element we’re delivering as part of our dental recovery plan which will free up 2.5 million more appointments this year.
The plan includes a new patient premium to encourage dentists to take on new NHS patients that haven’t been seen in the past two years. Dental professionals who opt-in to the scheme will receive additional payments of either £15 and £50, depending on the complexity of the treatment provided.
Our golden hello payments of up to £20,000 will encourage around 240 dentists to set up new practices in remote areas.
Backed by £200 million of funding, the plan will increase access to dentistry and ease pressure on the workforce, including by sharing the load across our talented staff.
As these measures are introduced, I want to thank you, the dental workforce, for the hard work you all do, and I look forward to seeing how these changes will improve the experience of staff and patients across the NHS.
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