The National Assembly’s Health and Social Care Committee says that progress made on the improvement of orthodontic services in Wales needs to be maintained.
The Committee found that, while there had been some improvements since a report by an Assembly committee in 2011, there were still issues in some areas of the country.
In particular, it recommends reform of payment and contractual arrangements to ensure robust performance and effective monitoring.
The Committee also highlighted the inappropriate referrals made by some dental practitioners and varying waiting lists between local health boards.
“The Committee recognises that some improvements have been made since 2011 but believes further progress is needed to provide consistent, high quality orthodontic services throughout Wales,” said David Rees AM, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.
“We are concerned there are still inappropriate referrals for treatment from some dental practitioners which can clog up waiting lists unnecessarily.
“This has contributed to the varying waiting lists we have seen at different local health boards across the country.
“We also concluded that there should be reform of the payment and contractual arrangements for orthodontic services to ensure robust performance and effective monitoring.”
The Committee makes six recommendations in its report, including:
That the Minister for Health and Social Services sets out the actions that local health boards and managed clinical networks can take, with associated timescales, to improve waiting times in each local health board area, and identifies the monitoring arrangements he will put in place;
To ensure that the service received by patients is of a sufficient standard, the guidance issued to local health boards by the Chief Dental Officer in relation to commissioning orthodontic services includes best practice for the establishment and monitoring of such services; and,
That the Minister for Health and Social Services takes steps to reform payment arrangements for orthodontic services to address the concerns raised by the Committee.
Report: Orthodontic Services in Wales
More information about the inquiry into orthodontic services in Wales can be found here.