Party conference season is a unique opportunity to make the case directly to politicians from across the political spectrum.
And from Brighton to Merseyside, we've spelled out the pressures our members are under, and made the case for real reform and proper investment.
It's a key part of our job to maintain ongoing dialogue with policymakers and parties from across the political spectrum, and we were delighted to see the results in the shape of motions on support for dentistry passed by both Green and Liberal Democrat members.
Across the conferences, we have worked to keep the crisis in NHS dentistry firmly on the political agenda, with MPs and other policymakers hearing directly about the pressures facing patients and the profession. Many of the MPs we spoke to pledged to continue raising our calls in Parliament and directly with ministers, helping to maintain the political pressure for fundamental reform and investment our members and their patients desperately need.
At Labour conference in Liverpool the new Health Secretary simply told delegates the NHS was delivering “3.5 million more dental appointments a year.”
We know recent figures have confirmed the service has yet to return to pre-COVID norms. Our own analysis of official data published in the summer indicates that unmet need for NHS dentistry remains near record highs, at well over 13 million, or over one in four of England’s adult population.
As we've told ministers, following recent tweaks to the discredited contract fuelling the crisis in the service, just 1% of dentists say they are likely to increase the volume of NHS work they do. Almost two thirds say they will reduce it. Recent analysis from the Nuffield Trust showed the exodus from the NHS is still very much in motion.
The clock is ticking, and we were clearly disappointed not to see an explicit commitment on the next steps towards fundamental reform from the stage. But at every event we attended, and every MP we spoke to we heard the same horror stories about a service on the brink.
In Liverpool we saw a new administration finding its feet. But we need to see urgency and ambition.
Labour wanted to tell this country it can ‘hope again’. Radio silence on the crisis in NHS dentistry gives little hope to a demoralised profession and the millions struggling to access care.
Help us and send a message to Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper.
