Plans to end a deepening crisis in access to NHS dental care are failing, leaving patients without treatment, according to a warning from the government's spending watchdog.
The National Audit Office (NAO)’s heartbreaking verdict About “Tooth Regeneration Plan” Patients' groups have warned that people's fight against tooth decay is a “serious public health concern”.
A pledge to provide an extra 1.5 million treatments in the UK this year has been thrown into disarray as both the number of dentists working in the NHS and the people receiving support from them have fallen.
The NAO study found there was “significant uncertainty” about whether that ambition would be achieved, as two key elements of the plan had not been achieved. None of the promised new mobile dental vans have arrived, despite a £20,000 'golden gimmick' to attract 240 dentists to work in areas with severe shortages Only one dentist was born.
The plan, launched by the then Conservative government in February, promised that “everyone who needs a dentist will have access to one” by 2024-2025.
However, “based on the initial analysis to date, the plan is not on track to provide additional treatment courses,” the NAO concluded.
It added that even if the plan delivered as promised, the NHS would provide 2.6 million fewer treatments this year than before the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020.
The NHS delivered 4.7 million fewer treatment courses last year compared to 2019-20, with just 40% of UK adults seeing a dentist in the two years to March this year, compared to 49% before the pandemic. A survey by NAO found that
Louise Ansari, chief executive of NHS patient advocate Healthwatch England, said: “These findings highlight the dire state of NHS dentistry.”
“Difficulties in accessing NHS dental care are one of the public's biggest concerns about the health system in general, with dental leaders estimating that the crisis has resulted in 13 million people refusing to book an NHS appointment. I am doing it.”
The findings suggest that there is a growing number of 'dental deserts' where NHS care is not available, and that more patients are turning to 'DIY dentistry' with their own teeth because they are unable to receive treatment funded by the health service. The announcement was made amid great public and political concern. I can't afford to go private.
The NAO added that two other cornerstones of the plan had been introduced, a new 'patient surcharge' and increased payments to dentists carrying out NHS work. NHS England expected to generate revenue for 1.13 million out of 1.5 million treatments by paying dentists a patient premium worth up to £50.
However, the NAO report points out that NHS data up to the end of September shows that “the number of new patients seen in the first seven months of coverage was lower than in the comparable period in the previous year”. .
The report says its findings so far “do not suggest that new patient premiums are on track to provide the additional treatment courses expected by March 2025.”
NHS dentistry is “broken”, said Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association.
“People live with untreated dental problems, significant pain and the mental and emotional burden of cavities and missing teeth.
“Lack of access to NHS dental care is no longer just a matter of inconvenience, but a serious public health concern,” she added. It is “alarming” that the NHS dental budget is underspent, with 483 fewer dentists working in the NHS from 2019 to 2020.
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation charity, said: 'The question is no longer whether NHS dentistry can be saved, but the government's will to make it a real priority before it is too late. It's whether or not.”
He advised people to eat a healthy, low-carb diet and brush their teeth regularly to reduce the risk of needing care.
Labor ministers are devising their own pot to tackle the access crisis, with plans to introduce supervised tooth brushing for children aged three to five, although details are still sparse.
Dental Secretary Stephen Kinnock said: 'We have inherited a dental service where many people struggle to find an NHS dentist and a recovery plan that is not fit for purpose.
“The Government is working to rebuild dentistry, but this will take time. We are prioritizing initiatives that will have the biggest impact on access to NHS dentistry and are committed to further action. .
“We will open an additional 700,000 emergency dental appointments to help those who need it most and reform dental contracts to ensure more dentists provide NHS services to patients.”
