Speaking at a visit to Dalriada Urgent Care in Ballymena, the Minister said: “In recent years access to health service dentistry in Northern Ireland has become a growing problem in certain parts of the country.
“While I intend that the new dental contract will address the problems we currently face, it is vital that we build up alternative and additional provision to that offered by independent practitioners. This will be needed to cover the existing gaps in health service dental provision, provide career options for the dental profession and offer best value for money.
“I am confident that in time the salaried dental service will grow and provide a valuable and essential element of health service dental provision across Northern Ireland, my warmest congratulations on being the first in the field.”
Mr Michael Donaldson, Consultant, Dental Public Health, Northern Health and Social Services Board, said: "The new Salaried Dental Service based at Dalriada Urgent Care (DUC) is the first of its kind to be offered in Northern Ireland. It is designed to provide access to Health Service dentistry for patients who would not otherwise be able to receive it.
“It has been running very successfully since the beginning of the summer and we have plans in the coming months to operate a similar service from two other sites in the Northern Board area."
Notes to Editors:
- The Salaried Dental Service at Dalriada Urgent Care (DUC) is another way of providing General Dental Services. Patients may make an appointment to see the dentist by telephoning: 028 2566 3520. The dentist is able to offer the same treatments that are available to other patients attending a Health Service dentist in Northern Ireland. Patients are free to regularly attend the Salaried Dental Service for check ups or, if they have initially accessed the service for pain relief, they may choose to register with another dentist for their routine care.
- The allocation of up to £400,000 is to resource new salaried dentist posts in the Northern and Western Health Boards, and it is hoped for similar proposals to come in from the other two Boards as soon as possible to address the identified shortfalls in Health Service dentistry in their areas.
- The funding for the salaried dental service has been made available in the main through recycling funding already within the General Dental Services budget. It is money which would have been paid to dentists carrying out health service treatments but is now unspent due to the movement of dentists into private practice.
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