It is only a few days since Health Minister Neil O’Brien was asked by an MP how Ukrainian refuges in England could access dental care. The minister replied that they could go to “any dentist that is accepting NHS patients.”
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As more and more of the population adapt to life without NHS dentistry, some recent news items have shown how treatment was provided in the past, as well as some current alternatives. The recipients include a 17th century French noblewoman, a retired roofer and a Bridlington resident with a broken tooth.
As the Government’s Health and Social Care Committee prepares to analyse the profession’s feedback to inform its enquiry into the access crisis, the public and the profession might expect, at the very least, that the Minister who answers for the department would know how many NHS dentists are working and the cost of NHS dentistry.
Read more: The Minister Doesn’t Know How Many NHS Dentists There Are
Scarcity may have encouraged the public to look more kindly upon dentists, but the stereotypical evil dentist, reliable material for an easy shudder, is back on screen, and on stage.
Tipping points, turning points, points of no return, are just some of the expressions used to describe that moment when the old order breaks down, and there is no going back. Often identified with the benefit of hindsight, they are not always recognised at the time. Looking back over a recent webinar followed by GDPUK, it may be that NHS dentistry really has run out of road.
There was a time when newspaper stories about dentistry tended to be rather predictable. They were usually restricted to greedy dentists, unnecessary treatment, and high costs. Then in the early 2000s two new distinct stories appeared.
A survey by the Medical Defence Union (the ‘MDU’), the indemnity provider that provides legal support to some 200,000 doctors, dental professionals and other health workers, has discovered that 40% of its clients are considering quitting the NHS because of ‘intolerable’ pressures.
Read more: MDU Survey: Doctors And Dentists Poised To Leave In Droves
For many years one of the government’s tools to manipulate the Dentists and Doctors Review Body (DDRB) has been to miss the agreed deadlines for submitting its evidence.
Read more: Delaying Tactics For NHS Dentists' Next Pay Award Have Officially Begun
The recent announcement of a 4.5% pay uplift for NHS dental contracts at a time when inflation exceeds 10%, represented a further pay cut for dentists. This is on top of the claimed 40% real-terms cut in pay since 2008/9.
Read more: Time To Review The Review Body, Say Doctors and Dentists