The government need to drop any pretence that NHS dentistry is on the road to recovery and to deliver a much-needed rescue package, alongside a pledge for reform of the contract according to the British Dental Association.
Official data they say, shows that just 23,577 dentists performed NHS work in the 2022/23 financial year, down 695 on the previous year, and over 1,100 down on numbers pre-pandemic. The crash brings figures to levels not seen since 2012.
“We have repeatedly called out the Prime Ministers’ claims that government reforms have boosted dentist numbers. We understand that several MPs have already sought correction of the official record, and there now at least seven instances where they now have a basis to proceed.” adding
We are calling for real reform and a properly funded service, rather than the tinkering at the margins. The government needs to use the record-breaking underspends in the dental budget to bring a degree of sustainability to practices on the brink.”
“Government needs to drop the spin, accept the facts, and provide a rescue package to keep this service afloat” says GDPC Chair Shawn Charlwood.”We face an access crisis, and with hundreds of millions set to be pulled away, funds must be put to work solving these problems.”
“The money is already there. We estimated that funds returned by practices not hitting their contractual targets will likely exceed £400m this year, or over 10% of the total NHS budget. That’s likely a very conservative estimate.”
