Matthew Jerreat, south west regional chief dental officer at NHS England and restorative consultant at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (Credit: Matthew Jerreat)
Seven integrated care boards (ICBs) across the south west of England will roll out a unified dental electronic referral service (e-RS) for the region.
The organisations have signed an initial three-year contract with NEC to implement the NEC Rego system, which will manage referral activity across 12 dental pathways and support services for around 5.5 million people.
Moving to a single referral service is expected to give the region a consistent approach to the quality and triage of referrals, as well as clearer visibility on demand on services and capacity.
Matthew Jerreat, south west regional chief dental officer at NHS England and restorative consultant at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Introducing a single referral service across the South West will reduce variation and give clinicians a simpler, more consistent route into specialist dental care.
“It will also give us greater confidence in the quality of referral information, which helps improve triage and reduces delays for patients.”
The rollout will cover more than 900 dental practices, 17 acute providers and more than 1,000 GP practices, with approximately 160,000 dental referrals expected to pass through the system each year.
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB, Bath and North East Somerset ICB, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB, Devon ICB, Gloucestershire ICB, and Somerset ICB, will go live with the solution in 2026.
Dorset, where NEC Rego is already in use, will join the unified south west service in 2027, with implementation planning with local commissioning teams underway to support a coordinated rollout across all seven ICBs.
David East, director of NEC Rego, said: “We are delighted to support the south west as the region adopts a single dental referral solution with NEC Rego.
“A unified system will help patients reach the right care faster and give clinicians and commissioners a clearer view of demand.
“It also strengthens clinical decision-making, reduces avoidable rework and helps providers plan services with greater confidence.”
NEC Rego is intended to help reduce variation in care, strengthen clinical decision-making and give commissioners the data they need to identify pressure points and prioritise service development.
By reducing the number of referrals that are returned or redirected, the service is expected to cut avoidable rework for dentists and hospitals and help patients reach the right care faster.
It is also hoped that the single referral service will become a reliable source of information for longer term planning and commissioning of dental services.
With this agreement, NEC Rego supports 22 ICBs, building on established use in the south east of England, the West Midlands, North West London and several ICBs across the East Midlands.
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