Funding western Emergency Dental Clinic will present ‘significant challenge’ warns Mike Nesbitt

At present there are three EDCs providing emergency dental care at weekends and bank holidays in Belfast, Armagh and Ballymena but none in the western geography.

"When they were originally established in the 1990s, it was agreed with local dentists in the west that they would provide emergency cover through local, practice-based rotas covering weekends and public holidays.

"In 2019, the western local dental committee (LDC) approached the legacy Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) to advise it that it was no longer prepared to operate the local rotas and requested that the HSCB commission an emergency dental centre similar to that in other areas,” Mr. Nesbitt declared at Stormont on Tuesday.

The Health Minister said progress was stalled by the pandemic but confirmed that ‘an out-of-hours working group was established in 2021 to review the future of dental out-of-hours and emergency care provision across NI’.

"The strategic planning and performance group (SPPG) is working through the actions emanating from the working group's findings, including engagement with the western LDC and the Western Trust on future arrangements for the west. Funding those actions, however, will be a significant challenge in the current financial climate,” he warned.

At present OOH emergency dental care at weekends and bank holidays is available in the Western Area via the OOH rotas.

Last year a Dental Access Scheme was established to provide weekday access to General Dental Services for unregistered patients with an urgent or pressing dental need. There are two participating practices in the Western area.