Alarming figures are emerging which suggest that a further two thousand dentists have quit NHS dentistry.
No commentsRead more: Media reports a further 2000 dentists abandoning The NHS
The plight of a town with around 6,000 inhabitants which has been deprived of NHS dental services for twelve months was highlighted on Friday.
Three in four dentists (75%) in the early stages of their careers say the COVID-19 pandemic has had a ‘significant and negative impact on their dental training.’
Read more: Surveys Highlight The Profound Effect COVID Had On Dentists
The announcement earlier this year of £50M to fund thousands upon thousands of urgent dental care appointments provided ministers and apologists with a perfect retort to fend off MPs and the public’s legitimate concerns about access to NHS dental services. How many patients it actually helped is rather more obscure.
In a ‘you couldn’t make it up’ story, NHS spokespeople pulled out, at the last minute, from attending a specially convened meeting of Derby City Council’s Adult and Health Scrutiny Review Board which had been convened to discuss city councillor’s grave concerns surrounding access to NHS dental services.
Read more: NHS FTAs Derby City Council’s Meeting To Discuss Dentistry
There is no respite in the bad news stories about NHS access but a clear pattern has now emerged. There is a sad predictability to both the stories of the dentally disenfranchised, and the responses from those nominally responsible for providing their care.
Read more: Welcome to the New Normal - the NHS access crisis
An article written by a respected dentist and academic has received widespread social media plaudits for the way it encapsulates the feelings of many UK practitioners regarding dental litigation and the General Dental Council.
Read more: The GDC and NHS UDAs Crushed Compassion – The Brutal Truth
New Government proposals to limit the legal costs that lawyers can recover for clinical negligence claims have been welcomed by Dental Protection.
Read more: New Proposals To Curb Negligence Claims Don’t Go Far Enough Says Dental Protection
Dentist shortages could be alleviated by employing more dental therapists, a leading dental academic has claimed.
Read more: Dental Dean Calls For More Therapists To Solve Dentist Shortage