The Government has repeatedly stated that “NHS dentistry should be accessible and available for all those who need it.” However, a Recovery Plan pledged last Spring remains undelivered, and the Government has rejected the key recommendation from the Health and Social Care Committee – to make a clean break from the discredited contract fuelling the exodus from the workforce.
The Nuffield Trust warned last month the service faces the gravest crisis in its 75-year history, and universal access to care may be dead without radical reform and investment.
News follows recent reports of a surge in deaths from dental sepsis, fuelled by ongoing access problems. One clinician in the North of England reportedly described their local hospital as “like a battlefield” given the volume of cases.
BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said:
"The Government says there's going to be a 'big package' for NHS dentistry.
“Size really doesn't matter if the package is empty.“Ministers keep offering big ambitions but have not set out any concrete plans capable of achieving them.”