Welsh Dental Committee newsletter: November 2025

As highlighted in our July 2025 newsletter, WDC has been working to produce three position statements in relation to dental services, for publication shortly. 

WDC documents, including past newsletters, are hosted online at: Welsh Dental Committee | GOV.WALES

The position statements will also be shared on this platform:

• Achieving net zero in dental services in Wales will improve population health now and for future generations
• Unfair and preventable oral health inequalities must be eliminated
• Dental Care for Vulnerable Persons in Wales must remain a high priority

Welsh Government have now shared the outcome of the public consultation regarding a new NHS GDS contract for Wales.

The response to the consultation was the largest response received by Welsh Government to any public consultation.

Alterations have been made to the contract based on the responses.

The decision not to implement the proposal to move low-risk patients to the dental access portal highlights the strong preference among patients and dental teams for preserving their ongoing relationships.

The final details of the contract are being decided within task-and-finish and implementation groups with NHS Wales, BDA, Welsh Government and stakeholders, which will be shared with the profession as soon as possible.

A plan to grow, support and inspire a skilled, motivated and compassionate primary care workforce. Putting patients and staff first through partnership, innovation, and inclusion. Empowering people and teams to build a healthier Wales.

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) and the Strategic Programme for Primary Care (SPPC) have jointly developed a Strategic Workforce Plan for Primary Care (SWPPC) with partners across Wales.

The plan was developed using HEIW’s 3 pillar approach which includes research and best practice, a review of available workforce intelligence and the delivery of an extensive engagement and consultation period with key stakeholders across primary care.

The next 10 years: A vision for the primary care workforce 

• people will be supported by multi-professional teams working together to deliver holistic and integrated care
• people will benefit from a consistent range of services available in primary care, with the size and shape of the workforce reflecting local population health needs delivering equitable outcomes
• technology and the use of data will play a bigger role and will help to deliver accessible, high-quality care that is targeted at the needs of people
• people will be attracted to work in primary care and will have choice and flexibility to develop along their career pathway with access to high-quality education and training
• our workforce will deliver care that applies across a broad and holistic perspective to people’s needs focussing on prevention, care and treatment
• our workforce will have a greater range of skills available and will be supported to develop to meet the needs of their communities
• our workforce will be supported to deploy their extended skills across a range of settings, blending work and lifestyle choices

The plan identifies 26 key actions to be delivered over a 5 year period which are aligned with the themes of the Health and Social Care Workforce Strategy.

To read more about the actions and benefits of this comprehensive plan, visit Health Education Improvement Wales.

Matthew York, Registrar in Public Health, working with the Inclusion Health Service, Public Health Wales, presented recently to WDC, regarding dental needs and barriers faced by those in contact with the criminal justice system:

All prisons in Wales have on-site dentists. They all provide urgent treatment and some also provide routine care. There are no prisons for women in Wales, so Welsh female prisoners are accommodated over the border in England. 

Being in prison offers an opportunity to engage with dental services, often for the first time in many years. Prisoners may be released before their course of treatment (such as, provision of a denture) is completed, and it is currently extremely challenging for that treatment to be continued within the GDS. 

Release from prison, therefore, represents a barrier to continuation of care unless seamless referral pathways can be put in place. This barrier serves to widen health inequalities and may lead to resources being wasted when courses of treatment have to be abandoned.

Matthew York made a series of recommendations: 

• inform prison dentists serving Welsh residents, probation offices & others supporting prison leavers of the services that are available
• inform stakeholders of the referral mechanisms already in place, and create new pathways to cover any gaps
• ensure referrers are mindful of the capacity issues within CDS services, and ensure only appropriate referrals are made
• monitor how many from this cohort are referred to CDS and any knock-on effects on those services

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) plays an important role in ensuring that dental practices across Wales deliver safe, effective, and high-quality care by following relevant legislation and professional standards. 

HIW has recently published insights from their inspections. HIW says: 

While our inspections show that most dental practices manage clinical care well, there are recurring issues in non-clinical areas that require attention. These areas, though sometimes overlooked, are essential to maintaining patient safety and ensuring regulatory compliance and delivering a positive patient experience. 

Our inspections have revealed several recurring themes, and we ask dental practices to reflect on these issues and consider how they might apply this learning to their own services.

Themes highlighted by HIW for learning and development include checks around recruitment and safeguarding, oversight of mandatory training, tailoring policies to specific services, making patient information accessible, regular review of key documents, and ensuring an “active offer” is made to patients regarding their language needs.

For more information, visit Healthcare Inspectorate Wales' website.

Welsh Government are seeking your views on shaping the future of the NHS Wales Bursary Scheme in an open consultation.

Welsh Government explains: 

Since its launch in 2017, the current NHS Wales Bursary Scheme, managed by Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) since 2018, has supported over 15,500 healthcare students to complete their studies and join the NHS workforce in Wales. That’s something we’re incredibly proud of. But times have changed. While the bursary continues to offer vital financial support, it hasn’t been reviewed for some time. A key update in the 2024 to 2025 academic year allowed eligible, full-time Welsh-domiciled students to access the full amount of maintenance loan, an important step forward. However, we know we need to go further. 

We’re now looking ahead. What should the future NHS Wales Bursary Scheme look like? We want a scheme that: 

• meets the diverse needs of students, whether they’re school leavers or mature learners
• provides meaningful financial support
• encourages graduates to stay and work in NHS Wales 

To get this right, we need your input. We’re calling on students, recent graduates, educators, trade unions, professional bodies, and others to help shape a bursary that truly supports the future NHS Wales workforce. 

The open consultation ends on 23 January 2026. WDC encourages all members of the profession to consider writing a response to this important consultation.

Further details can be found on Welsh Government's website.

If you have any queries or thoughts about the work of the Welsh Dental Committee, please contact:

• Chair, Adam Porter: adam.porter2@wales.nhs.uk
• Vice Chair, Jonathan Carter: chairgwentldc@gmail.com
• Secretary, Rebecca Evans: rebecca.evans034@gov.wales