After our initial survey to discover the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of dentists in Wales, we launched a follow up to discover how your mental health is being impacted as society begins to open back up.
Our survey revealed that almost half of Welsh dentists have found the last six months extremely stressful, with many facing complete burnout. A huge 83.1% of respondents reported going to work, despite not feeling mentally well enough. Worryingly, almost half had done so for more than 10 days.
We have presented the survey results to the Welsh Dental Committee and the Welsh CDO, Andrew Dickenson. This gave us a key opportunity to update the Welsh Government on the difficulties you are experiencing on a day-to-day basis.
In our meeting we made the following recommendations:
- Address the rise in administrative tasks that are causing an increase in stress and preventing breaks
- Ensure that Canopi (formerly Health for Health Professionals) continues to support dentists
- Consider how to increase the attractiveness and viability of NHS dentistry in Wales. While this survey from October is concerning, the recent contract reform survey results were even more stark.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey, allowing us to present our findings and make a strong case to improve the working conditions of dentists in Wales. We are here for you if you are experiencing stress and there are some helpful resources available on our website to support you.