Agenda item

To enable the Cabinet to consider the recommendations submitted to it by the Community Leadership Overview & Scrutiny Committee following that Committee’s scrutiny of improving access to NHS Dentistry for residents in Tendring at its meeting held on 23 April 2024.

RESOLVED that the recommendations made by the Community Leadership Overview & Scrutiny Committee be noted and that the response of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder thereto be endorsed.

It was reported that the Community Leadership Overview and Scrutiny Committee (“the Committee”), at its meeting held on 23 April 2024, had discussed the delegation of dental service commissioning to the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (SNEE ICB) by NHS England on April 1, 2023. This move had aimed to address longstanding issues surrounding NHS dental access, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial burden on the NHS due to oral diseases amounted to £3.4 billion annually, underscoring the urgency of improving dental care provision.

Concerns had been raised by Members about the significant pain endured by individuals with dental issues, leading some to resort to extreme measures such as DIY dentistry or excessive use of painkillers like paracetamol. This not only strained urgent care services but also had broader societal impacts, including increased pressure on the healthcare system, reduced productivity due to absenteeism from work, and financial costs to employers.

The Committee outlined the commissioning structure for NHS dental services in Suffolk and North East Essex, highlighting the use of Courses of Treatment (CoT) and Units of Dental Activity (UDA) to reimburse dentists. Criticism had been directed at the 2006 NHS dental contract, which paid dentists per course of treatment rather than per item, potentially dis-incentivising comprehensive care. Efforts were now underway to reform the dental system, with objectives including improving oral health outcomes, enhancing patient access, and ensuring affordability within NHS resources.

Regarding dental fees, the Committee had detailed the three-band fixed charge primary care treatment package for adult patients, with exemptions for certain categories such as those under 18, pregnant women, and individuals receiving low-income benefits. Despite those provisions, there had been a downward trend in the utilization of free NHS dental care in Essex between 2017/18 and 2021/22. Poor oral health had been identified as a significant issue in this Region, impacting overall health, quality of life, and placing additional strain on healthcare services.

The Committee’s decision at its meeting held on 23 April 2024 had been to recommend to Cabinet that:-

“Cabinet receives this report and thereby is made aware of the actions of the Suffolk and North Essex Integrated Care Board to improve provision to support good oral health in the Tendring District and to endorse the partnership links between the Council and the SNEE ICB to ensure the needs of local residents for good NHS Dental Services are best catered for through the ICB’s commissioning.”

The response of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder to the above recommendations was as follows:-

“I welcome the update provided by the Integrated Care Board (ICB)who now have the responsibility for dentistry and in particular their focus on high priority groups and urgent care especially as Councillors raised concerns re emergency access and treatment.  In addition, utilising the opportunity around contractual flexibility to improve oral outcomes, patient access and affordability is welcomed.

A focus on behavioural management to support people to manage their own dental health and an increase in staffing as the opportunity for training at the University of Essex develops will help support a stronger preventative approach.  This will assist the dentists in our area to be able to focus on the most serious cases.

A further update to the Committee in future would be helpful to ensure the work that the ICB highlighted is actually delivering outcomes and improving oral health in our area.”

It was moved by Councillor Placey, seconded by Councillor M E Stephensonand:-

RESOLVED that the recommendations made by the Community Leadership Overview & Scrutiny Committee be noted and that the response of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder thereto be endorsed.