NHS dentist: Welsh and English patients could be seen over the border

Patients from Wales could receive NHS treatment in England, and vice-versa, under the UK and Welsh governments’ joint plan to bring down waiting lists.

An offer from the Conservative UK government to help with waiting lists in August 2023 was dismissed as a “naked political hit” by Wales’ current First Minister Eluned Morgan, who was health secretary at the time.

Welsh NHS dentistry will also be used as an example for how to run the service in England, despite previous warnings from the British Dental Association (BDA) that the service could disappear in Wales.

The Tories’ shadow Welsh secretary said he was pleased Labour ministers had “seen the light”.

The Welsh government controls the NHS in Wales as part of the devolution settlement, with UK ministers responsible for the health service in England.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said health boards in Wales and trusts in England could work together to deliver “additional surgical procedures”.

She warned the plans were not a “panacea” for either nation.

“We can work together cross border to deliver earlier surgical operations for people on waiting lists,” she said.

Labour’s general election manifesto included a pledge to work with the Welsh government to bring down waiting times.

It led to questions for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over whether he was overstepping a line in terms of devolution.

In a statement released on Sunday, Labour said there would be more opportunities to explore cross-border collaboration.

Cross-border arrangements already exist, but this would represent a more targeted approach specifically aimed at bringing down long waiting lists in areas that need it, with greater focus on where there might be spare capacity.

Dentists in Wales have been involved in a long-running row with the Welsh government over the availability of NHS appointments.

The BDA said changes to contracts to increase the number of appointments prioritised new patients to the detriment of existing ones.

Last year the BDA warned NHS dentistry in Wales could disappear as a result of Welsh government plans to make 112,000 appointments for new patients.

Only 44.8% of people in Wales received treatment through an NHS dentist between January and December 2023, official figures show.

In the past week, families have spoken to BBC Wales about their difficulties in getting NHS dental care.

The number of dental practices open in Wales has risen gradually over the past three years to 1,434.

But that is lower than the 1,506 in 2019, before the Covid pandemic.

English NHS dentistry has also had big problems.

Back in December, the think-tank the Nuffield Trust warned the traditional model of NHS dentistry was gone for good.

Earlier this year the former Conservative UK Government offered £20,000 incentives to dentists to set up in areas with poor NHS cover.

As part of the collaboration to bring down waiting lists, Wales will benefit from best practice shared by England, where there are plans to deliver 40,000 extra NHS appointments a week.

The extra appointments were promised by Labour in May at a cost of £1.1bn for extra out-of-hours shifts worked by staff.

The Welsh Government would be in line for consequential funding, because of the extra cash being spent across the border.

Last week NHS waiting times in Wales hit a new record high.

In August 2023, Conservative health secretary in England, Steve Barclay, invited the Welsh and Scottish governments for talks.

An exchange of letters after this summer’s general election, and seen by BBC Wales, show that talks did take place last October between ministers.

But there were no further discussions.

In July this year, the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Lord Davies of Gower wrote to the English health secretary Wes Streeting to ask what steps were being taken to “progress this arrangement”.

Mr Streeting confirmed the October meeting had taken place.

His reply also struck a similar tone to Eluned Morgan’s comments at the time, saying that “this government is not interested in gesture politics”.

As Wales’ first minister, Morgan said: “We don’t have a monopoly on good ideas and there’s lots we can learn from our closest neighbours.

“And we have lots we can share with our colleagues in NHS England, where we have already made changes to our NHS.

“We are ready to harness the power of two Labour governments.”

Lord Davies said: “It was the Conservatives that devised this plan – but the Labour Welsh government’s short-sightedness meant they lost interest in it.

“I’m pleased Labour ministers have finally seen the light in realising our plan is the most effective method for tackling Welsh NHS backlogs.”

Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for health and social care, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, said the Welsh NHS needed “more than cosmetic collaboration with Westminster – it needs fundamental, systemic reform, and proper resourcing”.