To ask the Minister of Health what arrangements are being made to ensure that adequate personal protective equipment is available to dentists and opticians as they fully re-open.

At the end of June I agreed that dentists should be provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to assist them during the phased re-establishment of General Dental Services (GDS). Approximately £1million worth of Level 1 PPE has been procured and is being distributed to individual dental practices; equating to approximately £2,600 of PPE per practice.

On 31 July 2020 I approved the allocation of an additional £3.8 million in funding to assist General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) in the purchasing of the Level 2 PPE necessary to undertake Aerosol Generation Procedures (AGPs).

Three months’ worth of Level 1 PPE was provided from central HSC stocks for Ophthalmic Practitioners in April 2020. On 3 August 2020 Phase 2 of the re-establishment of General Ophthalmic Services commenced, allowing the main elements of routine eye care, including eye examinations and ophthalmic dispensing and the provision of Enhanced Services to resume. Funding has now been approved for a further four months’ worth of Level 1 PPE to be provided to Ophthalmic Practitioners.