Consultation outcome

Use of exemptions by dental hygienists and dental therapists

From:
Department of Health and Social Care
Published
18 August 2023
Last updated
28 March 2024 — See all updates
This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government
This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Proposal to enable dental hygienists and dental therapists to supply and administer specific medicines under exemptions: consultation response

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Detail of outcome

The consultation sought responses from a wide range of stakeholders on proposals to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (HMRs) to enable dental hygienists and dental therapists to supply and administer specific medicines without the need for sign-off from a dentist.

We received 2,743 responses from a range of organisations including the General Dental Council, the British Dental Industry Association, the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry and Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland.

The feedback from the consultation was overwhelmingly positive, with most respondents (97%) agreeing with the proposal to amend the HMRs to allow dental hygienists and dental therapists to supply and administer medicines under exemptions.

Common themes amongst respondents were that the proposal would increase autonomy, resulting in workforce empowerment. It would also be an important step towards increased effectiveness and service optimisation.

Given the high level of support for this proposal, the UK government jointly with the Northern Ireland Executive will progress with UK-wide legislation to amend the HMRs 2012.

Original consultation

Summary

This consultation will inform the government’s proposal to enable dental hygienists and dental therapists to supply and administer medicines under exemptions.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

We are seeking your views on amending the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to enable dental hygienists and dental therapists to supply and administer specific medicines without the need for sign-off from a dentist.

The Department of Health and Social Care, consulting jointly with the Department of Health Northern Ireland, wants to work with the dental sector to improve the use of skills in NHS dentistry to ensure the full dental team can be used to deliver care to patients. This is an important element in improving access to NHS dentistry, while also improving use of the dental workforce and the job satisfaction these professionals have by enabling them to work to the full scope of their practice.

The proposed change will support dental hygienists and dental therapists in providing the right care to patients without unnecessary delays and add capacity in dental care teams.

Documents

Proposal to enable dental hygienists and dental therapists to supply and administer specific medicines under exemptions

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Impact assessment on the proposal to enable dental hygienists and dental therapists to supply and administer specific medicines under exemptions

PDF, 388 KB, 18 pages

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Updates to this page

Published 18 August 2023
Last updated 28 March 2024 + show all updates

  1. Added the consultation response.

  2. Contact email address updated to: [email protected]

  3. First published.

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