Dental surgery wait times on the rise across Scotland

One patient in NHS Lanarkshire waited three years

The wait has increased form 5 weeks in 2019 to 35 weeks in 2023
Author: Molly TulettPublished 8th Sep 2024

Scottish Labour is calling on Holyrood to improve on dental surgery wait times, after data revealed one patient had waited more than three years.

Freedom of Information (FOI) data showed the average wait times for dental, oral, and orthodontic surgery had increased in almost all health boards in Scotland between 2019-2023.

One patient in NHS Lanarkshire waited 175 weeks for surgery, while across the board waits rose from five weeks in 2019 to 25 in 2023.

Scottish Labour's spokesman on dentistry Paul Sweeney said: “Being in pain every time you eat a meal or try to talk is agony for a few days, let alone months or years, but that is the reality for many of those unfortunate enough to be on a waiting list for dental surgery.

"It needs to brush up its act"

"The SNP has presided over a rot in local NHS dentistry over the past 17 years and it needs to brush up its act fast.

"A Scottish Labour government will end this creeping, two-tier health system and ensure that patients can get the treatment they need."

A new payment system for dentistry was introduced last year, with ministers saying there were one million patients seen by an NHS dentist in the first three months of 2024.

However, the British Dental Association has said further reform is needed in the sector.

"We are supporting NHS Boards to drive improvements"

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "The overwhelming majority of people receive dental care in a primary care setting. Latest figures show over one million courses of treatment were delivered to patients in the last quarter - highlighting the success of our payment reforms.

"We are supporting NHS Boards to drive improvements in waiting times and are targeting resources to ensure people waiting the longest are treated as soon as possible.

"We have significant activity under way to target backlogs locally and through our National Treatment Centres, which will provide additional capacity and will see around 20,000 extra procedures a year, once fully operational."

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