5. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent research from the British Dental Association that shows that 83 per cent of dentists in Scotland expect to reduce the amount of NHS work they do in the year ahead. (S6O-02208)

The Scottish Government is aware of the survey and understands the concerns expressed, which is why it wrote to all national health service dental teams on 7 February to confirm the continuation of the bridging payment to 31 October 2023 while we prepare for the implementation of payment reform. Payment reform will comprise a new, modernised system that will provide greater clinical discretion for NHS dental teams and greater transparency for NHS patients. It is our intention that payment reform will maintain the confidence of NHS dental teams by ensuring the future viability of NHS dentistry in Scotland.

That sounds like a temporary filling to what is a long-term cavity in their funding—no pun intended.

I will be frank with the minister: NHS dentistry in Scotland is at crisis point, and everybody knows it. A person would need to be living in a cave not to. If members have not seen their inboxes, they are filled with constituents’ problems in accessing NHS dentists and with emails from dentists who face massive funding issues.

In my region, not only can people not register for an NHS dentist, but the waiting lists have been closed altogether. Put simply, some people have no access to an NHS dentist. My question on behalf of those constituents is a very simple one. If the only way to get immediate dentistry treatment in Scotland right now is to pay for it, what do people do if they cannot pay for it?

I compliment Jamie Greene on his puns, but I disagree with him. I do not believe that NHS dentistry is in crisis. However, there are—[

Interruption

.]

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

Members, we need to hear the minister’s answer, please.

I accept that there are a number of difficulties, but we have come far in a reasonably short time and, as I said, payment reform is how we will change the system.

The Scottish Government has clearly linked ambitions to sustained and improved NHS dental services, and we intend to work collaboratively with health boards to find local solutions. We have expanded funding to local dental services to support that. In addition, we are working with the other nations of the United Kingdom to improve the pipeline of dentists coming to Scotland from Europe, which was so negatively impacted by Brexit.

Last week, dental practices in Langholm and Annan announced that they were deregistering 2,000 adult NHS patients. That adds to the more than 10,000 NHS patients who have been deregistered with other practices in recent weeks in Dumfries and Galloway. People cannot register with an NHS dentist, and that is a crisis. Why does the minister think that the Government’s actions, including promises of future funding arrangements, are so badly failing to stem the collapse of NHS dentistry in Dumfries and Galloway?

I appreciate the issues in dentistry in Scotland, and I am working very hard with my colleagues to ensure that we find solutions with dentists. I outlined in my response to Jamie Greene’s question what those are.

A single practice in Orkney provides NHS dentistry. That shows the particular fragility in the islands in the context of the BDA figures that Jamie Greene referred to. With payment reform now pushed back to November, does the minister accept that it is vital that dentists have sight of the detail of what is proposed well ahead of the November deadline? What assurances has she had from the chief dental officer that there will not be any further delay in the reform process?

I agree that it is important to involve the dentistry profession in the discussions that we are having. That has happened to date, and that is continuing apace as I stand here.

In 2022, the Nuffield Trust found that the number of European Union and European Free Trade Association-trained dentists registering to practice in the United Kingdom was halved after the EU referendum and that that is yet to recover. It is undeniable that Brexit, along with the pandemic, has been a factor in the current challenging situation that dentistry faces. Despite that difficult context, can the minister provide an update on the progress that is being made in providing extra support in areas in which there is the greatest patient need?

It is true that some areas are particularly affected by the present situation, which is made worse, as I have highlighted before, by the labour market effects of Brexit. That is why we have expanded Scottish dental access initiative grants. Those grants—[

Interruption.

]

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

Please. We need to hear the minister. I will not have all this harping away from a sedentary position. The minister has the floor, and we need to listen to her response.

We have extended Scottish dental access initiative grants to wider parts of Scotland, and we have also made available an enhanced recruitment and retention allowance.

I am also fully aware of the need to increase workforce pipelines from overseas. As I have said previously, I am working with and writing to Department of Health and Social Care ministers to ensure that the changes are made on a four-country basis to improve the registration process for overseas dentists.