The British Dental Association has said new analysis from the Daily Mirror - indicating that up to 96% of dental practices in England are unable to take on new adult NHS patients - must spur action from Government to save the struggling service.
The Mirror data unit analysed more than 6,500 practices on the NHS "Find a Dentist” site and found 4,800, or 73%, are not currently accepting new adult patients - with 1 in 10 constituencies in England not having a single NHS dentist accepting new adult patients.
However, a joint follow-up investigation undertaken by the Mirror and the British Dental Association suggests this figure is just the tip of the iceberg.
Calls to a representative sample of 100 practices currently listed as accepting new adult NHS patients found 86 were not actually able to take on new adults - with dozens stating they are at capacity, and one reporting a waiting list of up to 10 years. Mirror analysis suggests this means the total proportion of practices incapable of taking on new adult NHS patients may be as high as 96%.
Changes made to the NHS.uk website under the last Government have made it all but impossible for new patients to identify whether listed practices can actually offer appointments to new patients.
The website now asks practices whether they would take on new NHS patients “when availability allows”. Previously dentists were asked to state whether they were currently taking on new NHS patients, a simple Yes/No question.
This change seemed designed to exaggerate the levels of access available to patients, and was implemented following the publication of the former Government’s widely discredited Dental Recovery Plan.
The professional body has stressed that the new Government must show urgency and ambition on its pledge to reform the broken contract fuelling the crisis in NHS dentistry, stressing there simply won’t be a service left to save without rapid action.
The recent Budget has set the service further back, with the Treasury piling new costs on struggling practices without any of the relief offered to secondary care. Pay awards for dentists announced in July - for the financial year starting in April - have yet to be implemented, a record-breaking delay.
BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said:
“Every week I speak to MPs reporting how deep the crisis in NHS dentistry goes.
“There are votes to be won and lost here, and constituents are looking for action.
“If this ends up as another line on a pledge card at the next General Election there simply won’t be a service left to save.
“The information on the NHS website was redesigned to give cover to the last Government.
“But until the new Government keep their promises, millions will face long hours on the phone, struggling to access care.”