The report of Director of Public Health is enclosed.

The Board considered the report of the Director of Public Health that provided a position statement on the oral health of the city’s population and access to NHS dental services. It used a range of data to profile the oral health of Manchester residents, described the provision and use of NHS services, including action to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and information on patient and public feedback.

The report further summarised commissioned prevention and oral health improvement services for children and young people, adults and older people. The report placed a focus on health equity, highlighting known gaps in our knowledge and intelligence and the limitations this placed on our ability to understand and address health inequalities, and provided feedback from partners/providers in relation to a range of vulnerable or health inclusion groups.

Noting that the report made a distinction between dental oral health and wider oral health conditions (such as mouth cancer, gingivitis, halitosis etc).

The Board welcomed the comprehensive and detailed report, noting the stark picture it illustrated in relation to oral health across the city. The Board discussed that the work to tackle this was fundamental to the commitment to address wider health inequalities, in particular, noting the detrimental impact poor oral health had on vulnerable residents’ health outcomes, with specific reference to Learning Disabled citizens and older citizens. The Board further discussed and recognised the importance of preventative initiatives around the issue of oral health, particularly in relation to young people. The Board stated that all opportunities and available levers should be used to address poor oral health.

The Head of Primary Care, NHS Greater Manchester advised the Board that work between commissioners and providers continued in an attempt to address this issue, adding that demand on NHS dental services outweighed provision, adding that this was a national issue and not confined to Manchester. He advised that work was ongoing to review the redistribution of provision across Manchester and Greater Manchester following a number of NHS contracts being ‘handed back’. He advised that negotiations were ongoing with providers to encourage them to increase the number of NHS patients they would treat. He advised that information on individual practices could be found on the NHS UK website. He further referred to the ongoing discussions at a national level regarding an enhanced tariff to encourage and support practices to increase the number of NHS patients they could accommodate. In response to a request from the Chair he advised that he would provide a written summary of these activities so this could be circulated to all elected members for information.

A member of the Board stated that all partners should support activity and awareness regarding the importance of oral health. The Strategic Lead, Population Health Programmes commented that all partners would be consulted with as the Manchester specific action plan was developed, and she further welcomed the support offered from the Board in relation to this activity.

The Strategic Director of Children’s Services welcomed the inclusion of looked after children in the list of groups identified as being vulnerable, adding that he would discuss with the Chair of the Corporate Parenting Panel the need to include consideration of this topic when they had a health themed meeting. In relation to a specific question raised regarding Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) the Head of Primary Care, NHS Greater Manchester advised that he would clarify the position following the meeting.

The Chair stated that explicit consideration needed to be given to the impact of COVID-19 and young people within the action plan. The Chair further recommended that an update report on this and the wider activity be submitted for consideration by the Board towards the end of the year.

Decisions

The Board:

1. Support the development of a Manchester specific action plan to address poor levels of oral health in the local population, drive improvements to NHS dental services and reduce inequalities for the Manchester population.

2. Support the development of GM strategy and action to address locality requirements around oral health promotion and improved access.

3. Request that the Director of Public Health, in consultation with Greater Manchester NHS and the Manchester Local Care Organisation reports back to the Board on progress and the priority actions agreed by the end of the year.

4. Recommend that the Head of Primary Care, NHS Greater Manchester provide a briefing note that describes the actions being taken to improve NHS dental access across the city that can be circulated to all members of the Council.