CHILD dental waiting times could be ‘halved’ under a new scheme which will see more than 1,000 children offered free treatment at private practices.
The Health Department has commissioned five surgeries to see patients aged between four and 11, who are on the waiting list for their first routine appointment with the community dental team.
Although a government spokesperson was unable to say how much the waiting list had been reduced so far due to the project being ‘in its infancy’, Sarah Evans, general manager for the community dental team, said that it was ‘anticipated that the scheme would reduce the community dental waiting list by more than 50%’.
‘The waiting time for patients to be seen by private dental practices is a few weeks, unless they want to be seen on a particular day or time,’ she added.
The scheme is being funded by the Covid-19 Recovery Strategy, and aims to help reduce the community dental team’s waiting list, which it says was severely impacted by the pandemic. Safety measures implemented to mitigate the spread of the virus meant that the number of patients the team could see was severely restricted.
However, parents had been complaining about long waiting lists for many years prior to the pandemic, with some choosing to access private dental care for their children due to ‘excessive’ waiting times of up to five years in 2017.
The scheme is open to patients within the age category who require routine appointments and were on the waiting list for the community dental team as of 31 October. The Health Department initially launched the scheme with the five practices – Smile Group; Colomberie Clinic and Dental Practice; The Dental Studio; Confidence Dental and Wellbeing; and Windsor Crescent Dental Practice – as a pilot project earlier this year, with 200 patients opting in.
Following their initial appointment, each patient will remain under the care of their private dentist for subsequent treatment as part of the scheme or – if they do not require further work – transferred back to the community dental team to be seen again within six-to-12 months, depending on need.
Due to the success of the pilot, the project has been rolled out to a further 833 patients.
Each private practice participated in a tendering process to enter the scheme and will charge the Health Department an agreed amount for each appointment or treatment they undertake. Patients who choose not to opt in to the scheme will remain on the waiting list for the community dental team.
Health Minister Karen Wilson said: ‘I am pleased to see progress around waiting lists for children’s health.
‘This is a great example of primary and secondary care working in partnership to deliver better services for children who have been affected by delays caused by the pandemic, and as a start of the turnaround for Health and Community Services.’
Six-year-old Clara Trilho has already been seen under the scheme.
Her mother, Ana, said: ‘Teeth are so important. If you don’t have good teeth, you don’t eat well and your health goes down.
‘It’s been a relief that she has been seen. The team were really nice and she enjoyed going.
‘She is booked again in three months’ time for a check-up.’
