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The government’s new plan to fix the dental crisis in the UK contains some “welcome measures” but fails to address the “systemic problems” that have led to today’s state of “near-terminal decline,” according to the Nuffield Trust’s Thea Stain.
Ms Stain, chief executive of the health talk and former chief executive at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust says the plan offers “a much-needed scale and polish when what NHS dentistry needs is root canal treatment.”
Dentists to be offered £20,000 to work in ‘dental deserts’
The plan recently unveiled by the government aims to make dental services “faster, simpler and fairer” by creating 2.5 million more NHS dentistry appointments and incentivising dentists to take on new patients, particularly in areas where dental services are difficult to access.
Backed by £200 million of new funding, the plans aim to bring NHS dentistry to people who can’t travel (through mobile clinics and school treatment services), as well as offering up to 240 dentists £20,000 each to work in ‘dental deserts’ where NHS dental treatment virtually impossible to find.
A new patient premium will also offer NHS dentists bonuses for seeing patients who haven’t undergone treatment in two years – £15 to first see them and £50 if they need significant work done. It also raises the minimum Unit of Dental Activity (UDA) value from the current level of £25.33 to £28.
Dental service recovery plan ‘unworthy’ of its title
The British Dental Association says the ‘recovery plan’ is “unworthy of its title” and will not prevent the “exodus from the workforce or offer hope to millions struggling to access care.”
The professional body says the plans not to prevent NHS dentists from being forced to cover costs out of their own pockets, and says the £200 million in ‘new’ money is “less than the half the underspends in the budget expected this year”.
The BDA is also concerned that the plans do not go far enough to make dental services fit for the future, something that is crucial considering eight in 10 dentists have treated patient who have undertaken some form of ‘DIY’ dentistry since lockdown began.
National Dental Contract in need of major reform
Integrated Care Systems have recently taken on responsibility for dentistry, and the NHS Confederation says a greater focus on accessing dentistry will help to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions which happen when people cannot access dental care.
However, Sarah Walter, director of the NHS Confederation’s ICS network, warns that the national dental contract is in need of major reform to make NHS dentistry an attractive role.
She said: “The new £210 million funding to encourage dentists to see new patients is a welcome start to improving access to patients who have not been to a dentist in years. Too often it is those in most need of dental care who have the biggest problems accessing care. This focus is essential to reducing health inequalities and helping to prevent avoidable A&E admissions.
“But the elephant in the room is national dental contract, which doesn’t do enough to make NHS work attractive to dentists. Increasing the payment for Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) is a step in the right direction, but may not go far enough in rethinking UDAs, particularly given high inflation. Radical reform of the contract is needed to fix the problems in dentistry for patients. We look forward to working with government to make the necessary changes.”