Local authority leaders have called for ‘much more’ to be done to address the shortage of NHS dentists as the Government unveils its new dental care plan.
The Department of Health and Social Care today launched a new package of measures aimed at improving patient access to dental care.
A previous analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) found that no area in the country has more than one NHS dentist per 1000 of the population.
Residents in rural and more deprived areas are more likely to face shortages than their counterparts, with the top 10 council areas for shortages mainly having higher than average levels of deprivation or higher than average proportion of residents in rural areas.
The new measures will see NHS dentists receiving fairer payments for delivering complex dental care. The aim is to incentivise practices to take on high needs patients who require treatment the most.
‘I am determined to make sure everybody seeking NHS dental care can receive it when they need it,’ said health minster Neil O’Brien.
‘Our new contract rewards dentists more fairly for taking on high needs patients and delivering treatments to those who need it most.
‘It will not solve all the problems overnight, but it will help improve access and ensure the system supports dentists and their teams.’
Responding to the new dental care plan, Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA Community Wellbeing Board, said that much more needed to be done to deal with ‘dental deserts’.
‘There are significant numbers of dental deserts across the country, with many people lacking access to affordable dental care. These shortages are most severe in rural and deprived communities,’ said Cllr Fothergill.
‘Although these changes to dental contracts is a start in tackling the issue, much more can be done to address these shortages.
‘The Government should commit to a comprehensive dental workforce strategy as well as providing a real terms increase to councils’ public health grant, so they can provide vital oral health improvement programmes to prevent longer term health problems.’
