Government needs to learn lessons on funding and reform, says BDA
NewsPosted by: Dental Design 23rd September 2024
The British Dental Association has stressed that improving access to NHS dentistry in both England and Wales hinges on real reform and fair funding, following suggestions from Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens at Labour Conference that the UK Government will ‘take inspiration’ from Welsh reforms.
The Welsh Government have claimed to have ‘unlocked almost 400,000 appointments’. However, in Quarter 3 of the 2023/24 financial year – the last financial quarter in which comparable data is currently available – England delivered 8,434,793 courses of NHS dental treatment, or 85% of the average pre-Covid. Wales delivered 351,757 courses of treatment, or 58% of pre-COVID norms. Analysis undertaken by the BDA suggests England has lost well over a year’s worth of NHS dental treatment since lockdown, Wales over two.
The professional body stresses ‘business as usual’ remains a distant prospect in both nations, and that fundamental reform of NHS dentistry underpinned by appropriate investment have been the missing pieces in the push to restore services.
The BDA had described the former UK Government’s ‘recovery plan’ for services in England as ‘unworthy of the title’. It has expressed scepticism over Welsh plans to boost access.
Shawn Charlwood, Chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee said: “In Wales and England NHS dentistry remains lightyears from business as usual. Yes, we should learn lessons from across borders. But in both nations, what’s been missing to date are properly funded, ambitious plans to close the access gap.”
