Health and Social Care

Monday 21st February 2022 Ministerial Corrections

Dentist Industry and NHS Backlogs

The following is an extract from the Adjournment debate on the Dentist Industry and NHS Backlogs on 7 February 2022.

[Maria Caulfield]

For most of last year, dental teams were allowed only up to 40% of normal activity. It was not until the end of last year that they could go up to 65%, and just around Christmas time that they were able to go up to 85% of normal activity. Even today, they are still not allowed to go back to 100% of normal activity, simply because infection control measures make it important that space, intervals between patients and cleaning between patients continue…I reassure my hon. Friend that when we were at 20%, 40% and 65%, dentists were getting paid 100% of their contract value; it is only since the Christmas period, when we went to 85%, that they have not been paid the full 100%. Throughout most of the pandemic, even though they were seeing fewer patients than their contract allowed because of infection control measures, they were getting 100% of their contract value.

[Official Report, 7 February 2022, Vol. 708, c. 778.]

Letter of correction from the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the hon. Member for Lewes (Maria Caulfield).

Errors have been identified in my response to my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Andy Carter).

The correct response should have been:

[Maria Caulfield]

For some of last year, dental teams were delivering only up to 40% of normal activity. It was not until the end of last year that the threshold went up to 65%, and just around Christmas time that they were able to go up to 85% of normal activity. Even today, many are still not able to go back to 100% of normal activity, simply because infection control measures make it important that space, intervals between patients and cleaning between patients continue…I reassure my hon. Friend that when we were at 20%, 40%, and 65%, dentists were getting paid 100% of their contract value; it is only since the Christmas period, when we went to 85%, that there is no lower-level threshold, and they may not be paid the full 100%. Throughout most of the pandemic, even though they were seeing fewer patients than their contract allowed because of infection control measures, they were getting 100% of their contract value.