NHS leaders have conceded that the government’s NHS dental recovery plan, launched by the previous Conservative administration a year ago, has failed to resolve the ongoing crisis in England’s dental care system.
One key aspect of the plan – the ‘Golden Hello’ payments intended to attract dentists to underserved areas – has seen dismal results, with only 39 new dentists appointed out of the targeted 240. Another initiative, the introduction of mobile dental vans to increase capacity, has also failed to make any significant impact.
During a parliamentary committee, NHS officials acknowledged that the core issue lies with the existing NHS contract for dentists, and that a complete overhaul may be necessary.
The Dental Recovery Plan, outlined in February 2024, was introduced to tackle the growing difficulties in accessing NHS dental care. In some regions, particularly remote towns, residents are now faced with ‘Dental Deserts,’ where no NHS dentists are available. Research from BBC News in 2022 revealed that 90% of NHS dentists were no longer accepting new adult patients, and 80% were unable to take on children, despite them being entitled to free care.
However, senior leaders from NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) admitted that the recovery plan had not met its objectives. Professor Sir Chris Whitty, Interim Permanent Secretary at the DHSC, acknowledged that the plan was not on track to deliver the promised 1.5 million additional treatments. He noted that one component of the plan – the mobile dental vans – had not even been implemented, and other initiatives, such as a “patient premium” to encourage dentists to take on more patients, had failed to increase patient access.
The Golden Hello scheme, aimed at incentivizing dentists to work in underserved areas, has only resulted in 39 additional appointments, far below the target of 240. Furthermore, efforts to adjust the payment structure for NHS dental work have not been sufficient to close the financial gap between NHS and private dentistry.
Amanda Pritchard, head of NHS England, acknowledged the shortcomings of the plan and promised to focus on a new priority: delivering 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments. She also emphasized that lessons would be learned from the plan’s failure.
There was broad agreement among health leaders and MPs that the fundamental issue with NHS dentistry lies in the contract offered to dentists, which many argue is financially unsustainable. Pritchard concurred with suggestions that the solution may involve a radical overhaul of the existing system rather than minor adjustments, acknowledging that small changes had not been enough to address the scale of the problem.
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