The British Dental Association has greeted the calls in Lord Darzi’s independent review of the NHS to fix the broken contract fuelling the access and workforce crises in NHS dentistry.
Echoing the position of the Health Select Committee in two dedicated inquires, the Nuffield Trust and the dental profession itself, the report observes: “If dentistry is to continue as a core NHS service, urgent action is needed to develop a contract that balances activity and prevention, is attractive to dentists and rewards those dentists who practice in less served areas. There are enough dentists in England, just not enough dentists willing to do enough NHS work, which impacts provision for the poorest in society.”
The professional body has said Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s call for “major surgery not sticking plaster solutions” must be applied to the struggling service. The last Government offered a recovery plan that failed to offer a decisive break from the discredited target-based contract and came with no new investment.
The Labour Party pledged contract reform in its manifesto, and the BDA has been encouraged by early talks with the new Government. It says that maintaining momentum is key to meeting the huge unmet need for dentistry and keeping demoralised dentists on board, and that Government will need to demonstrate both urgency and ambition.
Recent BDA analysis of the Government’s GP Survey indicated unmet need for NHS dentistry in England now stands at 13 million, or over 1 in 4 of the adult population. Pre-pandemic numbers stood at around 4 million, or 1 in 10 of the adult population.
Shawn Charlwood, Chair of the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee said: “Lord Darzi has reached the same conclusion as select committees, think tanks and this profession. Past Governments have attempted tweaks at the margins. Saving NHS dentistry means fixing a broken contract.”
DDU welcomes wide-ranging report by Lord Darzi on how to fix NHS
Responding to the independent report by Lord Darzi into the NHS, John Makin, head of the DDU, said: “We welcome the government’s recognition that healthcare professionals are working in a broken system. Lord Darzi’s report has shone a spotlight on the scale of the challenge the NHS faces. Every day dental professionals go to work to do the best they can for their patients, but the strain staff are under is now clear for all to see.
“A survey of our members earlier this year found that only 17% of those responding said they always felt able to deliver optimal patient care. Notably, 41% of respondents said they are planning to reduce their hours because of these pressures. If government does not take this message seriously, the coming years look set to be even more difficult for the NHS.
“Lord Darzi’s report challenges the government to take a serious look at where the NHS budget is allocated. Every pound matters. We agree with Lord Darzi that the government must look at the eye watering cost of clinical negligence. In the year 2023/24, clinical negligence payments increased to £2.9 billion, which is approaching 2 percent of the entire NHS budget. If we are having a serious conversation about NHS finances, figures such as these cannot be ignored any longer.
