Chamber and committees

NHS Boards are responsible for receiving and approving applications for the Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI). Successful applications are then sent to the Scottish Government for processing.

As such, the Scottish Government does not hold information on how many SDAI applications have been received in the NHS Borders area, and this information is held by the Health Board.

There have been no applications sent to Scottish Government in the last 12 months.

Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Information in relation to the number of dental practices providing NHS dental services in the Dumfries and Galloway area is held by the Health Board.

All patients can self-refer to an Orthodontist, without having seen a General Dental Practitioner.

Orthodontists have access to all items of service within the NHS Statement of Dental Remuneration (SDR), should any preparatory work be required.

Unregistered patients who require urgent care can access services through the Public Dental Service’s (PDS) weekend and evening clinics, and will be able to receive a free NHS prescription if this is clinically required.

Dentists that choose to provide a wholly private service would be required to resign their NHS list number and would therefore be unable to issue NHS prescriptions.

High-quality, nutritious food which is sustainably produced is key to our wellbeing – in economic, environmental, social and health terms. The national Good Food Nation Plan sets out six over-arching Outcomes which indicate key areas to further develop our status as a Good Food Nation. These Outcomes have been developed with regard to a range of issues and principles set out in the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022, including the fact that each part of the food system plays an important role in the provision of food. The importance of supporting food production is particularly reflected in Outcome 4: “Our food and drink sector is prosperous, diverse, innovative, and vital to national and local economic and social wellbeing. It is key to making Scotland food secure and food resilient, and creates and sustains jobs and businesses underpinned by fair work standards.”

As well as the national Plan itself, we are also currently consulting on the list of specified functions that will, once set out in secondary legislation, give practical effect to the Good Food Nation Plan. The consultation can be found at https://consult.gov.scot/agriculture-and-rural-economy/national-good-food-nation-plan/ .

The Scottish Government is aware of emerging access issues within NHS Dumfries and Galloway, noting that this is an area which has suffered disproportionately with dental workforce issues in the past – an issue which has only been heightened by the significant loss of EU workforce as a result of Brexit.

Whilst a formal evaluation on the provision of NHS dental services in Dumfries and Galloway over the last year has not been undertaken, as it is a matter for the NHS Board, Scottish Government is working closely with the Board through an Annual Delivery Plan to mitigate against the drivers of access issues. This includes regular meetings to strategically plan on the design and implementation of more sustainable dental services across the Board area. While this work continues, unregistered patients will continue to be able to access emergency and urgent care via Public Dental Service clinics.

The current fee structure for NHS dental payments, as of 1 November 2023, is detailed in Determination I of the Statement of Dental Remuneration (SDR), which can be accessed online at: Statement of Dental Remuneration | Scottish Dental .

The fee structure for NHS dental payments prior to 1 November 2023 is detailed in previous versions of the SDR, which are also available at the above link.

The Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) was introduced in 1997. Over the course of this period, areas of NHS Dumfries and Galloway included within the scheme have varied depending on the access to NHS dental services at a particular time.

The whole NHS Dumfries and Galloway Board area was added for inclusion to the scheme from 20 December 2021.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring funding is distributed equitably across the country as set out in the 2021-22 Programme for Government. The existing National Resource Allocation Formula (NRAC) is updated on an ongoing basis for a range of factors including population demographics, relative health needs and remote and rural factors. We will continue to assess the need for a more detailed review of the formula, in line with developments in National Care Service funding and Integration reform.

The formula is inherently complex and the review will take time. However, work to determine how the review should be taken forward is underway, with initial meetings of the Technical Advisory Group on Resource Allocation (TAGRA) having taken place, considering the next steps to determine scope and timing of the review.

Further work is required prior to confirmation of a timeline for the publication of the updated formula.