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What clinics in Wales must do when an AI agent answers the phone.

Wales has its own regulator for private dentists and independent clinics, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, with its own record keeping rules: at least 8 years for most records, though a Welsh code lists 15 years for dental records. England's under 18 injectables offence covers administration in England only, and we found no Welsh equivalent.

All of the United Kingdom

Recording notice

Partly

AI disclosure

None found

Dental regulator statement

Partly

The rules in Wales

This is a guide for clinic owners, not legal advice. Every line points to the law or the regulator's own page, checked on 2026-11-14. Where we could not confirm something, the page says so.

How to read the labels. Yes, No and Partly rest on a law, rule or regulator statement we read. None found means we found no requirement or statement in the sources and pages we searched, which is not proof there is none. Not confirmed means the sources disagree or we could not read them. Where recording shows words instead, such as All parties, they give the rule in short form: whose consent is needed to record a call or to share the recording, or that the position is contested or not settled; each place page gives the full rule and its exceptions.

For clinics

What Wales adds to the rules across the United Kingdom.

Call notes, AI scribes and records

Yes

A registered independent health care provider in Wales must keep a comprehensive health care record for at least the period in Schedule 3. That is 8 years from the last entry in all other cases, with longer special periods for some patients, and 3 years for Part II records. The Welsh records code says private providers can use it for guidance but is not strictly binding on them.

For an AI agent: if a note or transcript becomes part of the patient's health care record, the clinic should apply the Schedule 3 retention period to it before any automatic deletion.

Clinical advice, triage and a way to reach a person

Partly

The Equality Act 2010 applies in Wales for services. The Welsh Language Commissioner's Code says the Welsh language standards do not apply to independent primary care providers, though six common duties reach them through health board contracts, while a Welsh Government page says the standards apply to NHS primary care contracted by health boards, including NHS dentists. The two sources conflict on NHS dentists.

For an AI agent: a clinic with an NHS contract should ask its health board which Welsh language duties the contract carries before an agent greets or answers patients.

Same as across the United Kingdom

For dental offices

What Wales adds to the rules across the United Kingdom.

Who regulates dentists here, and has it said anything about AI?

Partly

In Wales, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) inspects private dental practices against the Private Dentistry (Wales) Regulations 2017, the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 and professional standards. Private dentists must register with HIW, which says carrying on an establishment without registration is a criminal offence under section 11 of the Care Standards Act. The General Dental Council regulates dental professionals across the UK.

For an AI agent: the private dental practice, not the software, answers to HIW, and the practice should check its registration covers how it uses an agent.

Same as across the United Kingdom

For plastic surgery and cosmetic clinics

What Wales adds to the rules across the United Kingdom.

Who regulates surgeons and cosmetic practice here?

Partly

In Wales, independent hospitals, independent clinics and independent medical agencies must register with Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW), which says carrying on an establishment without registration is a criminal offence under section 11 of the Care Standards Act. In November 2026 HIW prosecuted a Bridgend provider for laser treatments without registration; that is a news release, not a rule. The General Medical Council regulates doctors across the UK.

For an AI agent: a Welsh cosmetic clinic, not the software, must hold the HIW registration, so the clinic should confirm it before an agent books treatments.

Injectables, med spas and office surgery

Partly

The Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 lists special procedures as acupuncture, body piercing, electrolysis and tattooing, not botulinum toxin or fillers, though ministers may add procedures by regulation. England's under 18 injectables Act extends to England and Wales, but its offences cover administration in England only, and we found no Welsh equivalent. A Welsh Government consultation response (not law) says it will consider the point.

For an AI agent: the England offence does not reach treatment given in Wales, but a clinic should not treat that as settled, since the Welsh Government has said it will consider the point.

Same as across the United Kingdom

What we could not confirm

  • We could not confirm whether Wales has made regulations on a duty of candour for independent healthcare providers; a Welsh Government page last updated in 2023 said it was working on them.
  • The 8 year rule for dental records and the 15 year figure in the Welsh code conflict, and we did not check whether a later Welsh code replaced the 2022 one.
  • Whether a wholly private practice has any Welsh language duties is unstated, and the two Welsh sources conflict on NHS dentists, so that point is unsettled.
  • Which records fall under the 3 year Part II period in Schedule 3 was not read.
  • We did not verify when licence offences for special procedures began, or the scope of the regulations on class 4 laser and intense pulsed light treatments.
  • A current check of Welsh law for an under 18 injectables rule was not completed.

Other nations

Aida is made by Attainment, the company that wrote this guide.

Aida is Attainment's AI agent for clinic phones and messages. Each practice's opening notice, AI disclosure and call handling are set with us before launch, using the rules where it operates; what the law requires is not optional, and this guide does not replace that check. The guide stands on its own whether or not you look at the product.

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