NHS Shetland has written to Lerwick Dental Practice twice to request a private meeting and is currently waiting for the practice owner to agree to this.
The purpose of the meeting is to work with the practice to ensure it achieves its practice certificate. Our goal is to ensure that all required standards are met, and we are proposing a detailed plan to support the practice to fulfil their responsibilities. Once this is completed the Board will support the practice to list dentists to provide NHS dentistry if they wish to do so.
We are able to confirm that both this current process and the support provided to the practice in 2021/22 have involved input from independent third parties from a total of five other Health Boards in Scotland. Further to this, the independent support arranged by NHS Shetland and offered in 2022 was refused by the practice.
In the meantime, NHS Shetland is monitoring the situation closely and can assure the public that certain thresholds must be met to allow NHS care to continue to be delivered in the longer term. Additionally, we are actively working to address the challenges and are meeting with the Scottish Government this week to discuss ways to improve and strengthen dental services in Shetland.