Agenda item

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The Sub-Committee considered a report of Deborah Glen, Policy and Improvement Officer regarding the Dentistry Project.  The report marked the completion of the first stage of the Sub-Committee’s project on Dentistry Services in Sheffield, which comprised a ‘Have your say’ survey and a follow up workshop.

Debbie Stovin, Dental Programme Lead, South Yorkshire ICB/Yorkshire & Humber was in attendance via remote access.

The aim of the project was to respond to concerns raised about the accessibility of Dentistry Services in Sheffield and to the wider work being carried out by the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (SY ICB) on the development of Dentistry across the whole of South Yorkshire.

The Policy and Improvement Officer presented the findings of the first stage of the project and gave additional information in response to members questions.

·       There had been no consultation with Dentists as part of stage 1, this would be part of the next phase of the project;

·       A list of dentists who were currently taking on new NHS patients had been provided at the workshop and a list could also be found on the NHS website;

·       It was confirmed that a mixed response had been received through the survey regarding Charles Clifford’s, people appreciated the facility, but found the communication between them and the dentists could be an issue;

·       The survey highlighted that last minute appointment cancellations were a problem.  The Policy and Improvement Officer advised that appointment cancellations came up a few times as an issue.  Responses were grouped into good and bad experiences;

·       The provision differed in postcode areas, and it showed that people could not access treatment in certain areas.  There were dental deserts and comments were made how important it was for children to be able to access evening appointments, outside of school times.

It was confirmed that the recommendations outlined in the report would be taken back to the ICB for consideration and a response would be provided with additional information.

Debbie Stovin advised that the response would focus on headlines, such as the urgent/routine dental surgery and the commitment of the ICB to spend money on dentistry. 

Children’s dentistry was a key priority and the ICB had committed £1m on projects through the federation.

The Sub-Committee discussed reaching out to marginalised groups, such as people with learning disabilities, asylum seekers, SEND children and Domestic Abuse survivors and their access to dentistry treatments.  The Chair advised that next stage would be to set up a working group and that all members of the Sub-Committee would be invited to the workshop. It was agreed that the Policy and Improvement Officer would begin work on this.

Resolved: - that the Health Scrutiny Sub-Committee

1.    make the necessary amendments to the report;

2.    agreed the final format of the report and stage 2 of the project to establish a working group to oversee further reviews of ‘access to dental services by marginalised groups’;

3.    agreed to include stage 2 of the project in its work programme for 2024/25;

4.    forward its recommendations on Dental Services to the ICB for consideration and response.