Funding of £5 million available for dental practices in Northern Ireland

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Funding of £5 million available for dental practices in Northern Ireland 1

Around £5 million worth of funding is available to dental practices in Northern Ireland in response to Covid-19.

Called the Revenue Grant Scheme 2021/22, each dental practice will be notified by post. These letters will detail the allocated funding amount alongside the application form required.

The injection is funded by The Health and Social Care Board (HSCB).

The funding is aimed at improving patient safety, practice efficiency and also to boost the resilience of practices. This is to mitigate against future transmission of other infectious and aerosol-based respiratory diseases.

Dentistry’s top stories

Oral health crisis

Adding to existing GDS budget, HSCB say it must be fully utilised by 31 March 2022, with all claims received by 4 March 2022.

This comes as associations have warned of a crisis in oral care across Northern Ireland

Last year, the British Dental Association (BDA) revealed:

  • 59% of practice owners will cut back on their health service commitment
  • 62% of associates say they will reduce their health service commitment
  • 39% of associates will switch careers or seek early retirement
  • Additionally, 82% of dentists have low or very low morale.

Drop in delivery

General Dental Services Statistics for 2020/21 revealed that delivery of treatment since April 2020 was less than a third of usual levels. This amounts to more than three million fewer treatments among both adults and children.

In addition, just 40% of patients were seen by a dentist when compared to the previous year – around 440,000 fewer adults and nearly 70,000 fewer children.

You can also read the full report here.


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