UDAs up by 48% on Isle of Wight as new dental reforms announced

New measures have been finalised to increase appointment availability, expand urgent care access and strengthen long-term dental services across the Isle of Wight.

Discussions between the integrated care board (ICB), Isle of Wight West MP Richard Quigley and local dentists have led to a suite of new measures including a 48% increase in the island’s unit of dental activity (UDA) rate. In addition, providers will be able to deliver up to 110% of their contracted NHS activity in an attempt to maximise access.

Further investment in orthodontic care will also see treatment capacity increased over the next three years.

New commissioning arrangements aim to provide additional urgent appointments, dedicated emergency sessions for children and stabilisation clinics. The island is also seeing investment into workforce schemes such as £20,000 golden hellos designed to attract dentists to the area and funded training places for conscious sedation to encourage up-skilling.

Following the closure of a practice in Freshwater, its contracted activity has been transferred to Denbigh House Dental Clinic to maintain patient care. Additional NHS activity has also been distributed across other practices on the island to improve the spread of available appointments.

Dentistry a ‘key priority’ on the Isle of Wight

Richard Quigley said he had ‘lost count’ of the number of Isle of Wight residents who were frustrated with NHS dental access, making it a ‘key priority’ for him.

He continued: ‘Since then, partners across the island have grasped the nettle and, over the past 18 months, have made real progress in tackling these challenges. The announcement of a new dental training school in Portsmouth, and the opportunity to establish a hub on the Isle of Wight, is also very welcome news for Islanders and for the future of local oral health.

‘This is an important start, and I will continue working closely with the ICB to drive further improvements.’

Alongside these policy changes, Dentaid The Dental Charity has been highly active on the island, providing more than 2,000 treatments including fillings, extractions, oral health checks and cancer screenings to over 430 patients.

Though not yet finalised, further measures are under discussion. For example, the possibility of establishing a University of Portsmouth Dental School training hub on the Isle of Wight is being explored.

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