The number of NHS dentists leaving in Somerset has risen by 57% since 2018/19 – and over 53% in Devon – House of Commons Library research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed as the party has announced plans for a £750 million ‘rescue package’ for dentistry.
The Liberal Democrat plan would mean around a quarter increase in funding on the NHS dentistry budget in England, which would help reform the NHS contract to encourage more dentists to take on NHS work.
This would act as a ‘rescue package’ for dentistry as 66 Devon and 30 Somerset NHS dentists left in 2022/23 – up more than 50% in both counties.
The situation threatens to get worse with 41 Somerset and 97 Devon NHS dentists nearing retirement age creating the potential for even fewer dentists to cope with already overstretched services.
Across England, the number of dentists leaving the NHS has risen by a third in the past four years. A further 3,532 dentists are nearing retirement age, over one in seven (14.6%) of the total dentists in the country.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent reforms to the dental contract to deliver more NHS dentist appointments and free check-ups for children. The party’s plan, backed by funding of £750m a year by the end of the Parliament, would guarantee access to an NHS dentist for everyone needing urgent and emergency care by:
Bringing dentists back to the NHS from the private sector by fixing the broken NHS dental contract and using flexible commissioning to meet patient needs.
Introducing an emergency scheme to guarantee access to free NHS dental check-ups for those already eligible: children, new mothers, those who are pregnant and those on low incomes.
Rachel Gilmour, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Tiverton & Minehead, said:
“People across in our area are going without what should be the very basics dental care. with it now being seemingly impossible to get an appointment.
“It cannot be acceptable that people across our area are forced to wait unnecessarily in pain, not knowing if they will even be able to register with a dentist let alone get an appointment.
“The Conservative party has pushed local health services and dentistry to their knees and it is people in our community paying the price.
“The Liberal Democrats have an ambitious plan to fix the dental contract and tackle the crisis in dental care. Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to get rid of this appalling Conservative government and fix the NHS and care.”
ENDS
Notes:
House of Commons Library data can be found here.
Notes from the House of Commons Library:
NHS Digital data shows the number of dentists who left and joined the NHS each year since 2018/19. The attached spreadsheet shows this data for NHS sub-ICB locations (as NHS dental services are not organised by trust). This data is available for England only.
A leaver is defined as a dentist who performs NHS activity in one year but not in the next.
The NHS Digital data also shows the age of dentists. As of 2022/23, 3,532 dentists performing NHS activity were 55 or over, which was 14.6% of the total. The attached spreadsheet also shows this data for each NHS sub-ICB location.
Liberal Democrat Plan for Dentistry
The Liberal Democrats will invest £750m a year by 2028-29 in their plan to guarantee access to an NHS dentist for everyone needing urgent and emergency care by:
Bringing dentists back to the NHS from the private sector by fixing the broken NHS dental contract and using flexible commissioning to meet patient needs.
Introducing an emergency scheme to guarantee access to free NHS dental check-ups for those already eligible: children, new mothers, those who are pregnant and those on low incomes
Promoted by David Wulff on behalf of Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrats) both at 8-9 Mountbatten Road, Tiverton, EX16 6SW.
