The British Dental Association (BDA) has welcomed signs that Northern Ireland’s Executive is ready to act on new research illustrating the funding gap fuelling the exodus from Health Service Dentistry.

The report, by Queen’s University health economist Prof Ciaran O’Neill, was commissioned by the Minister of Health in direct response to the BDA’s body’s requests for an informed fee rebasing exercise, addressing the true cost of providing HS care at struggling practices.

It concludes it costs around £145 an hour of funding for an HS practice to deliver care; current levels provide around just £90.

The Department of Health has acknowledged the funding gap must be addressed and have announced a process to take that work forward, which will incorporate a fee rebasing exercise. The BDA has stressed this could prove a watershed moment for the future of Health Service dentistry in Northern Ireland.

Figures published in June showed total patient registration levels hit 49% for the first time in a generation, with less than 44% of adults now registered, an all-time low. The BDA warned these figures reflected a disappearing service, one that is struggling to maintain its sustainability in the face of rising costs and wholly inadequate fees.

Ciara Gallagher, Chair of the BDA’s Northern Ireland Dental Practice Committee, said: “The numbers for health service dentistry in Northern Ireland simply don’t add up. And it is this funding gap that has fuelled an exodus from a service so many depend on.

“The authorities have recognised this report cannot be a purely academic exercise. Now it’s published, the focus must be acting on its conclusions.”

Tags: BDA, Northern Ireland