Overhaul of Manx NHS dental contracts urged as waiting lists grow

Waiting lists have doubled on the Isle of Man in the last year

An overhaul of NHS dental contracts on the Isle of Man is needed to help tackle growing waiting lists, Manx Care has said.

At the end of July, the number of people waiting for treatment was about 4,000 - double that of April 2022.

Manx Care chief executive Teresa Cope said many dental practices were "under-delivering against their contracts" because of limited capacity.

Changes were needed to encourage them to take on more patients, she added.

At Manx Care's board meeting this month, figures revealed the number of patients on the waiting list had increased by 500 since April.

Growing problem

NHS dental care contracts - with targets set for the number of procedures to be carried out - are awarded to a number of independent practices across the Isle of Man.

Manx Care's director of operations Oliver Radford said the health provider was limited in what it could do to encourage improvement if dentists did not meet those demands.

He admitted Manx Care's budget was "not enough to commission the care that's needed", and said a business case would be put to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for further funding to address the growing problem.

Ms Cope said the health provider had held talks with the Attorney General's Chambers and the DHSC about how contracts could be revamped.

But she agreed that funding constraints limited what Manx Care could do.

The possibility of new charges or changes to patient eligibility was raised at the meeting as a potential solution.

Non-executive director at Manx Care Nigel Wood expressed concerns these changes could be "privatisation by stealth".

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