Dental Services: Hampshire
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Special Care Dental Service provision in Hampshire, what the average waiting times are for patients requiring Special Care Dental services; and what steps his Department is taking to improve access and reduce waiting times for those with complex needs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
We recognise that certain groups of patients may be particularly vulnerable to oral health problems and may find it difficult to access dental care. Specialised dental services are in place to provide dental treatment and are commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs). For the North East Hampshire constituency, this is the Frimley ICB.
The January 2025 Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) report on community dental services (CDS) highlighted several known challenges in the operation and monitoring of CDS and offered recommendations for improvements. The majority of recommendations in the GIRFT report related to operational considerations for individual ICBs to address, which varies according to local arrangements, priorities, and needs.
NHS England and the Department have taken the recommendations on board and are working to improve the data reporting process to increase oversight of CDS activity, including current waiting lists and performance reporting. An amended waiting list data collection was implemented in August 2025 and will improve oversight of the current waiting lists and waiting times for adults and children.
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