Patients from Wales could receive NHS dental treatment in England, and vice-versa, under the UK and Welsh governments‘ joint plan to bring down waiting lists. That is if the proposal can survive party political point scoring.
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When the last government were talking up their dental recovery plan, the Under-Secretary of State for Primary Care, Andrea Leadsom, said that it would make dentistry, “Faster, simpler and fairer.”
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When Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health & Social Care asked Lord Ara Darzi to undertake his far reaching Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England he asked the renowned cancer surgeon to make his report a ‘roadmap‘ for a Ten Year Plan which the Department aims to publish next spring.
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One reason often offered to explain the dental access crisis, is that there are not enough dentists. There is a shortage in absolute numbers, and a shortage of dentists in the areas where their services are most needed. The theory goes that the majority of dental schools which are based in major cities, may attract students from rural areas, but they will frequently stay in or near to that city after qualifying
Keir Starmer has spoken of the need for change within the NHS. The message is that that simply putting more money into the current set up, will not fix all of the challenges facing the service.
Rishi Sunak‘s flagship dentist recruitment drive has been branded “toothless” after it failed to attract a single new dentist, seven months after its launch.
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The association between oral health and general health is now well established. In particular it is now accepted that our patients with periodontal disease may be fast tracking themselves for other conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Chronic heart and kidney disease are also linked and there are increasing numbers of studies showing an association with dementia.
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Dentistry is getting some novel media coverage, making a change from a diet of dental desert stories and Turkey teeth titillation. Approving reports have been covering the roll out of the first 60 sites in a new programme to introduce blood pressure checks at dentists and optometrists.
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The new government has said it will keep much of the former administration‘s Dental Recovery Plan.
Shackling new graduates and mobile units may be less in favour now, but many key parts of the plan remain essential to Wes Streeting‘s ambition to improve NHS dental access.