114 dentists stop doing NHS work

Staffing crisis amid a ‘broken system’

MORE than 100 dentists covering Birmingham and the Black Country stopped doing NHS work last year, amid warnings of a staffing crisis in the sector.

There are fears the shortages will leave people in pain, while the British Dental Association says the figures reflected a “broken system”.

Some 1,195 dentists were recorded as doing NHS work across two Clinical Commissioning Groups serving the area in 2020-21, down by 114 from 1,309 the previous year.

That was a nine per cent reduction, which was greater than the four per cent drop seen across England as a whole.

The biggest drop in the region was seen in Birmingham and Solihull, where the figure fell by 62 (10 per cent), to 538, while in the Black Country and West Birmingham it dropped by 52 to 657.

Across England, there were 23,733 dentists undertaking NHS work in 2020-21, down nearly 1,000 from 24,684 a year earlier.

And there are fears that fewer available appointments will mean people not bothering to go to the dentist and others suffering with pain as they wait to see a dentist.

BDA chairman Eddie Crouch warned a growing number of dentists could not see a future for themselves in a service “plagued by failed contracts and underfunding”.

Mr Crouch said: “For over a decade, dentists have worked to a broken system that has singularly failed to recognise and reward commitment to the NHS.”

Across Birmingham and the Black Country, the 1,195 dentists doing NHS work in 2020-21 was still more than the 1,107 recorded in 2011-12, the earliest year for which figures were available.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We have taken unprecedented action to support NHS dentists throughout the pandemic, including by providing full income protection for practices unable to deliver their usual level of activity.”

The dental crisis was highlighted by a 78-year-old Birmingham woman who has been waiting over a year to have teeth taken out after failing to get an appointment at more than 20 dentists.

Patient group Healthwatch Birmingham

and Solihull said concerns around dental care were among the most common reasons for people contacting them, with many struggling to get appointments or find a surgery accepting new NHS patients.

Chief executive Andy Cave said: “Concerns about getting NHS dental care are among the most frequent reasons people contact Healthwatch.

“We recently heard from a woman whose 78-year-old mother has needed teeth extracted for over a year, but has still been unable to get an appointment despite contacting over 20 dentists.

“Others have told us they can’t find a surgery taking new NHS patients, and many say they are unable to pay for private care, leaving them untreated and often in pain.

“New safety measures such as limits on face-to-face appointments and the backlog of patients caused by Covid-19 have undoubtedly seriously affected dentistry services, but the challenges being faced by users of NHS dental services have persisted for years.

“These include a fall in the number of general dental practitioners, a shift towards private dentistry, lack of clarity on treatment available on the NHS and affordability of dental treatment.

“Although this is a nationwide issue, the decline in access to care is particularly pronounced in Birmingham and Solihull.”

The challenges being faced by users of NHS dental services have persisted for years Andy Cave, Healthwatch