Background

1. There have been longstanding concerns about the lack of data at national level to understand waiting times for assessment and treatment, for vulnerable adults and children in Community Dental Service (CDS) settings. This gap was also highlighted in the findings of the recent Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) CDS report, which identified several areas where the current data collection could be improved, in order that the full extent of the wait for treatment within CDS services can be understood.

2. To support the launch of this amended collection a period of testing was undertaken in January 2025 with a small number of contractors across a range of organisations. We would like to thank all those contractors who participated in the test collection.

Objectives of an amended Community Dental Service waiting list data collection (WLDC)

3. In August 2025 an amended CDS WLDC will be launched and data published for use by:

• NHS England
• The Department of Health and Social Care
• integrated care board commissioners
• health care contractors of CDS
• patients and the wider dental community

4. The data set will provide:

• a national, comparable, standardised waiting list data set covering waiting times in CDS
• full visibility of CDS waiting times for adults and children
• information to support operational management of services
• information to provide oversight and understanding of any health inequalities
• baseline information for the future local and national development of CDS
• data which can be used to support oral health needs assessments

Timetable for completion and publication of the collection

5. Waiting list data is to be provided monthly, retrospectively, covering patients waiting for assessment and treatment for all CDS commissioned services.

6. Timetable for the first 6 months of the return is as follows – further dates to follow:

7. Where the last day of each monthly return falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the return will be launched on the last working day of that month.

Contractual framework and arrangements

8. Completion of the collection is mandatory requirement for all current CDS contactors, General Dental Services (GDS) contracts and Personal Dental Services (PDS) agreements in England.

General instructions and definitions

9. The CDS waiting list data collection will be a monthly collection, against waiting lists and waiting times for adults and children. Contractors must submit information for routine services, and general anaesthetic (GA) and sedation if they are commissioned.

10. No data is required for any other locally commissioned services.

11. Data will be collected by length of waits:

• number waiting 0-1 weeks (0-7 days)
• number waiting 1-2 weeks (8-14 days)
• number waiting 2-4 weeks (15-28 days)
• number waiting 4-12 weeks (29-84 days)
• number waiting 12-18 weeks (85-126 days)
• number waiting 18-52 weeks (127-364 days)
• number waiting over 52 weeks (over 365 days)

12. The data collection will be open for a 2-week period and close at 23:59 on the last day. Please see paragraph 6 which sets out the timetable for 2025.

13. Across the collection the following definitions apply:

• adult – is a person aged 18 and over
• child – is a person under the age of 18
• waiting list – to be counted from the date at which the referral into the service was received and total volume of patients awaiting an assessment and/or treatment
• service – routine services – primary care dental services to vulnerable children and adults; sedation and GA services – additional services to local populations
• assessment wait time– to be counted from the date at which the referral into the service was received and volume of patients who are awaiting assessment. The waiting count (clock) will start when the CDS receives the referral from the GDP, typically when they receive the written referral or when the patient activates their referral through the NHS E-Referral system
• treatment – is the count of patients who have been assessed as requiring treatment, and who are waiting for treatment. The waiting count (clock) will start when the CDS receives the referral from the GDP, typically when they receive the written referral or when the patient activates their referral through the NHS E-Referral system, not the date the patient is listed for treatment
• clock stop – the clock will stop when the first definitive* treatment starts

14. All CDS providers are required to submit both assessment and treatment wait times. For CDS contractors that only operate a waiting list for assessment, those contractors will be expected to complete the assessment table only.

*Defined as the first clinical intervention intended to manage a patient’s disease, condition, or injury and to avoid further intervention.

General principles when answering each question

15. CDS contractors will be expected to answer the questions in appendix 1:

• by service; routine, sedation, and GA (if sedation and GA are commissioned)
• split by adults and children
• by inserting the number of patients waiting for assessment and treatment
• by length of wait

16. Using the first set of questions for routine services, number of patients waiting for an assessment, as an example:

17. The greyed fields indicate where the system will automatically merge the responses for adults and children and provide a total. CDS contractors will need to verify all data to complete the submission.

What happens post completion of the data  

18. NHS England will quality check the data that has been submitted and publish in line with the planned dates detailed within paragraph 6. NHS England Pharmacy Optometry and Dental (POD) Analytical team will be responsible for quality assuring and publication of the data. Data quality notes will be added to the publication, to account for any outliers or inconsistencies.

19. NHS England will publish this data within the legacy NHS Digital website statistical publications, open data and data products – NHS England Digital.

Queries and questions regarding the amended collection

20. Should you have any queries or questions regarding completion and submission of the amended CDS WLDC please contact: england.dentaloptoms@nhs.net

21. Queries will be responded to within 5 working days.

Appendix 1 – full set of collection questions

• View and download a Word version of the collection questions

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