Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of dental practices which were unable to reopen on 8 June 2020 because they could not acquire personal protective equipment through their business as usual wholesalers.
No assessment has been made. However, supplies of the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) were made available by the Government to the dental wholesalers specifically to support the resumption of face to face care by dental practices from 8 June. National Health Service dental practices, in extreme circumstances, could also have approached Local Resilience Forum for emergency stock.
The additional PPE needed, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, is now available free of charge for NHS dental contractors. A dedicated PPE portal has been developed to deliver these items. As of 4 November, over 5,100 NHS dental and orthodontic providers in England have registered with the PPE portal and over 36 million items have been delivered.