Question reference: S6W-00272
- Date lodged: 27 May 2021
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Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 June 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS dental practices have a limit of 10 appointments each day.
Answer
Dental practices are allowed to see as many patients as they safely can whilst ensuring that they adhere to current Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) guidance. The number of patients that a dental practice will see each day is based upon a risk assessment which takes account of factors such as the local environment, the type of procedure being undertaken and the urgency of the procedure.
NHS dental practice have not been set a limit of seeing 10 patients per day. PPE is being provided to dental practices on the PPE based upon providing care to 10 NHS patients per day per operational treatment room. The number of treatment rooms varies significantly across dental practices with an average of three treatment rooms per dental practice nationally. This PPE is funded by Scottish Government, and at no cost to the dental practice.