Thousands of NHS patients face ’disaster’ after a dental practice was ordered to close by the NHS. Sefton Dental Centre, a practice in Bootle, estimated that it cared for 7,000 patients under the NHS. Located in one of the most deprived areas in the country, it saw many vulnerable patients with complex needs. It has now been ordered to close.
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A recent BBC report used biblical language in a story about NHS dentistry in Northern Ireland. This was not a report on sectarian disputes, but about dentistry, and the terms felt appropriate were of an ‘exodus’ that was ‘coming to pass’. The group seeking freedom from oppression on this occasion, are dentists with NHS contracts. Indeed so many wish to leave the scheme that there is now a waiting list for would be leavers and their soon-to-be former patients.
As the election campaigning ploughs on, two contrasting announcements shed some light on the gulf between the profession and our elected leaders. Indemnifier, The Dental Defence Union (DDU) have released details of responses to their recent survey of their members.
This year in the King’s Birthday Honours list, there have been awards of MBE and OBE to dentists. Peter Dyer, Clinical Senior Lecturer in Oral Surgery has been awarded an OBE.
An authoritative and comprehensive new report by the House of Commons Library entitled NHS Dentistry in England provides a revealing ’snapshot’ of the state of England’s broken dental service.
Read more: Dental Activity Running 15% Below Pre-Pandemic Volumes
The outgoing government’s last Primary care minister dealing with dentistry, was Andrea Leadsom. She recently announced that she would not be seeking re-election. The political career of an MP who was in the running to be Prime Minister in 2016, has come to a lower profile close than she once hoped.