English and Welsh patients will be able to cross the England-Wales border for dental treatment in an attempt to cut waiting lists, the government has announced.
This was revealed today (23 September) by Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.
She announced that, for the first time, the UK and Welsh governments will enter a new partnership to collaborate on healthcare. The aim of this collaboration is to reduce the NHS waiting lists in both England and Wales.
Speaking at the conference, Stevens said: ‘Eluned [Morgan] (first minister of Wales) and I are forging a new partnership based on respect, cooperation and delivery. We’re securing a sustainable future for steel in Wales – the lifeblood of so many in our communities.’
This new cross-border initiative will allow Welsh patients to receive NHS treatment in England and vice versa. It will also open up opportunities for further cross-border collaboration, including mutual aid partnerships and support between NHS trusts.
In addition, Stevens stated that the new partnership will allow the UK government to ‘take inspiration’ from Welsh dental reforms which have allegedly unlocked almost 400,000 appointments.
This comes as NHS waiting times in Wales have hit a record high, with 615,300 patients on waiting lists and 23,418 waiting over two years for treatment. As a result, Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that the NHS in Wales ‘desperately’ needs reform.
Government ‘acting quickly’
Upon announcing the new partnership, Stevens said: ‘This the beginning of a new way of working together that will help improve outcomes in both nations and deliver our missions.
‘And it has only been possible because a changed Wales office under Labour has a strong voice across government.
‘I will always be our fiercest advocate in Westminster… reaching into every part of Wales and back across Welsh and UK governments to make sure Wales gets what it needs.’
In response to these plans, the British Dental Association (BDA) stated that the government ‘needs to learn lessons on funding and reform’. The association also stressed that ‘real reform and fair funding’ is required to improve NHS access issues in both England and Wales.
Shawn Charlwood is chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee. He said: ‘In Wales and England NHS dentistry remains lightyears from business as usual.
‘Yes, we should learn lessons from across borders. But in both nations, what’s been missing to date are properly funded, ambitious plans to close the access gap.’
Stevens ‘ignored a multitude of failures’
Similarly, Siân Gwenllian, a member of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), has criticised Stevens’ comments. She said: ‘Welsh families will be surprised to hear the Secretary of State for Wales’ high praise of dental healthcare in Wales, when the day-to-day reality is so different.
‘Since being elected I have been inundated with constituents who are being let down by the Welsh Labour Government, and who are failing to access dental care on the NHS. Just last week, Kelly O’Donnell from Bethel spoke about how her family have been unable to see an NHS dentist for more than four years.
‘Last week I published a report that laid bare the stark reality of the dental crisis in Wales and called for a School of Dentistry based in Bangor in my constituency to get to grips with shortages.
‘The report showed that only 36.6% of the population in the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board Area had received NHS dental treatment in the past two years. Less than half of the child population had been seen to by an NHS dentist.
‘Put simply, the Welsh Secretary’s comments were disingenuous and ignored a multitude of failures in Wales’ dentistry provision. And that’s without getting in to a debate about the serious overstepping of a devolved issue in Wales.’
She added: ‘I hope the Secretary of State for Wales will join me in calling for her Labour colleagues in Cardiff to set up a school training dentists at Bangor University as soon as possible.’
NHS dentistry in ‘critical condition’
This follows a NHS report which found that ‘urgent action’ is needed on the NHS dental contract.
The report was written by Lord Ara Darzi, director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College, London and an honorary consultant surgeon at Imperial College Hospital NHS Trust.
His independent investigation into the state of the NHS concluded that the service is in a ‘critical condition’. He stated: ‘There are enough dentists in England, just not enough dentists willing to do enough NHS work.’
He also added: ‘Although I have worked in the NHS for more than 30 years, I have been shocked by what I have found during this investigation – not just in the health service but in the state of the nation’s health.’
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