Debate contribution: Dental Care

Debate contribution by Mr Philip McGuigan on 27 May 2025.

MLA

Mr Philip McGuigan

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

27 May 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Dental Care

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4972157

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Alliance Members for tabling the motion and the DUP for its amendment, both of which we will support. MLAs know, because our constituents have been telling us, that, in recent years, an increasing number of patients are and have been struggling to access NHS dentistry services, as more and more practices go private due to a lack of investment and rising costs in the industry. We have also heard from dentistry representatives that, unless action is taken soon, more dentists will inevitably leave the system and the crisis in NHS dentistry will deepen further. The BDA's general dentist service survey, which was carried out last March, stated that almost 90% of dentists said that they intended to do less NHS dentistry in the coming year and almost half stated that they intended to go fully private. We have seen those figures become reality. More than 53,000 NHS dental patients have been removed from dental practice lists over the past two years. During 2023-24, 114 dentists handed back their NHS contracts to the Department of Health, with many of them now doing private work only. Out of 360 dental practices in the North, only two are fully NHS practices. My household received three letters a fortnight ago to tell us that our dentist was going fully private over the summer. We know that the loss of more NHS dentistry practices will have a disproportionate impact on patients on lower incomes and on children, who, as a result, may go without regular check-ups and preventative oral care for many years. Therefore, I agree with the other Members who have stated how important dental care is. Dental care is not a luxury but a necessity, and it is vital for good general health. However, having the right to free dental treatment has no value or meaning when you cannot find an NHS dentist with the capacity to provide you with treatment. Access to dental care cannot be just for those who can afford to pay for it; it is a fundamental aspect of our health and well-being. Our public health service was designed to prevent health inequalities, yet we see that being eroded across the board. With private healthcare becoming more and more prominent, nowhere is that development more stark than in dentistry, as we see. It is imperative that the NHS dental contract be revised and made reflective of the current cost of delivering modern dental care to ensure that practices are not pushed towards privatisation through financial necessity. Everyone deserves to be fairly paid for the work that they do, so the call in the motion to:

"conclude and publish the general dental services cost-of-service review"

is an important aspect of getting this right and moving forward on it. Learning should be taken from the payment model followed in Scotland. The reform and investment there will clearly benefit both the dental sector by improving the NHS offer and patients by giving them increased NHS provision. Last August, the Minister announced the dental access service, the enhanced child examination scheme and the 30% enhancement to the fees paid for fillings. That is a short-term measure that speaks to the urgent necessity for action and reform. The Health Minister must bring forward a plan to stabilise NHS dentistry in order to avoid the complete collapse of the service. We are all aware of the budgetary constraints within which the Health Minister and every other Minister work. I have no doubt that he will articulate that in his response. However, the Health budget is vast: 50% of the entire Budget. The Minister has committed, in his three-year plan for Health and Social Care (HSC), to develop an action plan and programme of work for the reform of general dental services by April 2027. By April 2027, we will not have any health service dentists left. I urge the Minister to work with dentistry representatives to address access to NHS dentistry and workforce challenges and to restore public confidence in that vital part of our health service.

675 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:35 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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