It has taken some weeks, but James Frith MP has now been confirmed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health Innovation, with responsibility for dentistry.
And very clearly, we’re going to need to see real innovation here. So, we’ve wasted no time in setting out the urgent priorities facing our members.
At the centre of course, are the promises on fundamental reform that remain undelivered. We were meant to be in the process of public consultation this summer, a chance for this Government to set out its ambitions.
Change across Government means that deadline has slipped, but the problems haven’t gone anywhere. Unmet need for dentistry remains north of 13 million, well over one in four of England’s adult population. And the longer we wait, the more demoralised dentists will walk away.
The flipside of reform is funding. It is a statement of the obvious that we cannot go on as we are with practices expected to deliver NHS care at a financial loss. And we have told Mr Frith that a sustainable service requires sustainable funding. It’s why tens of thousands have joined our call to fix and fund NHS dentistry.
But the challenges here affect every corner of the profession, every generation, in every field of practice. Promises have been made to expand student numbers. But we have a shrinking and undervalued academic workforce, and undergraduates drowning in debt, with future dental students at risk of being tied into the NHS upon graduation. It is not the fully funded workforce plan dentistry needs.
We know this Government has liked to talk the talk on tooth decay being the number one reason for hospital admissions among young children. The reality we’ve spelled out is that colleagues in salaried services at the sharp end, dealing with huge backlogs, have received no priority. We have a scandal that waiting time data for Community Dental Services look like they are being suppressed.
Colleagues who have long wrestled to bring down yearlong waiting times, often for some of the most vulnerable patients in society, need transparency and resources to turn this around.
We await our first meeting with Mr Frith. And we will keep pressing on all fronts to secure the best deal for all our members.
