A new digital service launching this autumn will centralise the process for accessing routine care through an NHS dentist for people across Wales.
The Dental Access Portal, which is being piloted in Powys Teaching Health Board, will provide a central platform for Health Boards to allocate places for routine dental treatment at NHS dental practices across Wales. The new service has been designed and built by Digital Health and Care Wales and will be rolled out nationally later in the year.
Currently, there is significant variation between Health Board allocation of NHS dentist places, making it hard to measure the true level of demand both locally and nationally.
The service is currently available to patients in Powys only. However, when it is rolled out nationally over the next few months, it will provide Welsh Government, NHS Wales, and partner organisations with a clear picture of the scale of demand for NHS dental services. It will also mean patients living in every area of Wales will for the first time be able to use the new service, making access to routine NHS dental care simpler and fairer for everyone.
To be eligible to apply through the Dental Access Portal, people must:
- Be aged 16 or over (parents/guardians can apply for under 16s)
- Not have received routine dental treatment on the NHS in the last four years
- Live at an address in Wales for more than six months of the year or attend a Welsh GP practice.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Jeremy Miles said: “The new portal will help patients in Powys avoid spending time calling round dental practices seeking an NHS dentist.
“This is one of many improvements we are making to improve access to NHS dental services, and I look forward to the portal being rolled out across Wales.”
Under the pilot in Powys, people who are already on a Health Board dental waiting list have been automatically added to the Dental Access Portal. They will be prioritised based on when they joined the existing list and given the opportunity to opt out, should they wish to by logging into the Dental Access Portal or by contacting their Health Board. New patients who are not already on the Powys Teaching Health Board waiting list for routine NHS dental treatment will be invited to apply through the Dental Access Portal. Powys patients without digital access can continue to contact the health board’s dental helpline by phone.
After joining the Dental Access Portal, patients will be able to securely log in to check on the status of their application.
