The South West Collaborative Commissioning Hub supports the commissioning of NHS primary care dentistry (alongside pharmacy and optometry) across the South West of England. The Hub works with system partners such as ICBs, NHS England, Local Dental Networks, public health, local authorities, dental providers, and LDCs.
Priority areas currently include: improving access to NHS dentistry, stabilisation and urgent access work, children’s oral health and inequalities, supporting workforce and recruitment, and enabling reform and flexible commissioning.
For Somerset, this matters because the NHS dental contracts held by local practices are commissioned via the ICB, but the Hub supports the programmes, evidence, and delivery framework behind them.
For further details about the work of the SW Dental Collaborative Commissioning Hub, please contact Tessa (Tess) Fielding, Programme Manager, Dental (Somerset and Dorset), NHS SW Collaborative Commissioning Hub Hosted by NHS Somerset ICB