A shrinking workforce, growing workloads, and the increasing needs of our patient base were all on the agenda of our Community and Public Dental Services Accredited Representative Conference.
I was incredibly proud to chair the conference’s first day, bringing together many incredible colleagues working in the Community Dental Service (CDS) and Public Dental Services (PDS) across the four nations.
This inspiring and passionate group of dentists serve as our Accredited Representatives (ARs). They are our workplace voice in the CDS and PDS and they play a vital role in alerting our central teams to individual and collective issues affecting our CDS and PDS members. They help represent our members in employment matters, provide general advice on terms and conditions of service relating to members’ contracts and other employment-related issues, participate in their local workplace engagement forums and lots more.
We owe the ARs a huge debt of gratitude for all the work they do. I was delighted to see Taanya Stevens and Sinuba Naidu recognised with the Andy Williams Award for their outstanding work on behalf of BDA members at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
The conference debated topical and timely motions on a range of employment and policy issues affecting the members we represent. All the ARs participated actively in the discussions which, although recognising the many challenges we face, were also solutions orientated. The conference provided an invaluable opportunity to network with colleagues from across our AR networks, and to share knowledge and ideas as well as examples of our successes. The dedication and passion of our workforce came through loud and clear during the two half days of debating a total of 29 motions.
A shrinking workforce
Among the issues discussed was the direct impact on patients of the headcount reduction in dentists working within the service. In some areas this had resulted in patients having to travel much further to access appropriate services. The reality of our services is that we have an ageing workforce, with many nearing retirement, but without a pipeline of early career dentists ready to take their place.
While the NHS’ data is currently not collected consistently enough to give the full workforce picture, it is very clear that our services are working with far fewer staff than in years gone by. These recruitment and retention issues need urgent attention, and the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration’s recommendation to review our pay scales are a critical part of that.
Improving care for our patients
We noted with concern the growing numbers of patients with dementia presenting with advanced oral health needs, particularly in the later stages of the condition.
We also debated and passed a motion focused on the need to improving access to autism-friendly NHS dental care in primary settings, highlighting that many people with autism faced significant barriers to accessing routine dental care due to sensory issues, anxiety, communication differences, and inflexible service models.
Building rewarding careers
We heard about the frustrations regarding lack of career progression for dentists working within this area and the need to explain to key decision makers that progression is key for them retaining the workforce and ultimately delivering care to our patients. We heard about the need for clear and consistent funding for study leave and employers needing to meet their obligations, supporting workforce development and quality patient care.
In addition, the conference called for employers to consider additional benefits for dentists in the service nearing retirement age, to incentivise them to continue working, thus addressing the current retention crisis. There was a clear strength of feeling that if action was not taken there may no longer be a workforce there at all to undertake the critical work we do each day.
Standing up against violence and abuse
The conference rightly passed significant motions related to the impact on members’ health of increased waiting list pressures, including an increase in incidents of violence and abuse from patients or those accompanying patients. The message was that the current situation cannot continue, and urgent action was needed to tackle this. Those who dedicate themselves to caring for these vulnerable populations deserve to feel safe while doing so.
All the important and carefully crafted motions we debated and passed at the conference will be discussed at the relevant BDA committees representing community dentists across all four nations with a view to being taken forward as BDA policy. Although there are many challenges, I was struck by the way our ARs came together to share their stories, and supported each other before they returned to their different regions to continue their critical work in supporting our members.