Satisfaction with NHS dental services is rising
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- Published: Tuesday, 28 April 2020 14:37
- Written by News Editor
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A recent report has shown that in the last decade, changes in satisfaction with NHS dentistry services have followed a very different pattern to that for GP services, with satisfaction rising from a low of around 42% in the early-to-mid 2000s to a level similar to the NHS as a whole in 2019.
The report from the Kings Fund[i] on public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2019 shows that NHS dentistry is rated better over recent years, with a rise from 42% in the early-to-mid 2000s to a level similar to the NHS as a whole in 2019.
Over the last few years satisfaction with GP services has been falling, although satisfaction has remained relatively high compared to most other services. In 2016, 72% of those surveyed said they were either ‘very’ or ‘quite’ satisfied with GP services. This dropped to 63% in 2018 – the lowest level recorded since the survey began. This trend was reversed in 2019 with a significant increase in satisfaction of 5 percentage points, bringing it to 68%.
Overall, those who have used or had contact with a service tend to be more satisfied than non-users across all services. This is particularly the case for dentistry, inpatient and outpatient services, where the difference in satisfaction between users and non-users is statistically significant. The highest levels of satisfaction among users were for outpatients (78%), dentistry (77%) and inpatient services (76%). The difference in satisfaction between those who had had contact and those who had not had any contact (net satisfaction) was greatest for dentistry, with a 37% difference.
Unsurprisingly those who had been unable to get an NHS appointment with their dentist were most dissatisfied with the service.
[i] https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-04/BSA_2019_NT-KF_WEB_update.pdf
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