Labour's dentistry health reforms 'have failed'

Radical Labour Government reforms to improve patient access to NHS dentists have failed, it was claimed today. The charity Citizens Advice said there is “huge inequality” in access to dentists in England and Wales, and urged action to deal with “dentistry deserts” in many areas including some parts of Hampshire and Lancashire. It claimed two million people are forced to put off treatment or go private because they can't find an NHS dentist.

Last April the Government introduced a new dental contact intended to improve patient access as well as putting greater emphasis on preventative work. But the predicted benefits have failed to materialise, according to the British Dental Association (BDA).

Its survey found that 85 per cent of dentists believe patient access has not improved as a result of the new contract - under which dentists are paid for carrying out a set number of units of dental activity (UDAs) over a year.

Susie Sanderson, chair of the BDA’s executive board, said: “When the Government is failing to meet even its own success criteria for the new contract, then it’s time for urgent action.

“We now have a reductive, target-driven system that is failing both patients and dentists. The future of NHS dentistry is becoming increasingly fragile and we need action now before it shatters altogether.”

At a BDA conference today Dr Sanderson will call on the Government to scrap the UDA as being the only way of measuring performance.

She will say: “We need a more sophisticated approach which is sensitive to the reality of delivering dental care to patients and which supports preventive care, rather than works against it.”

From:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/28/ndentists128.xml

Health Direct only recently (15 Mar 07) noted the chancellor's distain for UK dentistry when
Hypocrite Brown bitten over his private dental work when the chancellor has been accused of spurning the National Health Service by paying hundreds of pounds for routine dental work to a private dentist known for his celebrity clients.

Gordon "Stalinst" Brown had root canal work done by Mervyn Druian, who runs a surgery in north London. He charges up to £650 for the procedure, compared with a standard NHS cost of £42.

His choice has angered critics who blame Labour for the virtual disappearance of NHS dentistry in large parts of the country, with claims that more than 1m people have lost dental cover in the past year alone.

Labour has come under repeated criticism over NHS dental provision. Reforms 11 months ago were supposed to improve services by giving primary care trusts (PCTs) the power to sign individual contracts with dentists. But most practices now accept only new private patients, with just 29% of dentists prepared to take NHS work.

On Feb 01, 2007 Health Direct posted in Dental health patients hit as dentists funding fails to add up that Dentists are turning away patients because miscalculations by the Department of Health have resulted in local health authorities running out of money in the dental budget. The problem has arisen because dentists have been treating more patients who are exempt from dental charges than had been anticipated under the new dental contract which came into force last April.

Jackie Sowerbutts, dental adviser to Surrey PCT, admitted that the trust had to say no to a number of requests from dentists for money.

"The labour government totally and utterly changed the system. It is not surprising the estimation [of patient charges] is turning out wrong. Many trusts are in this position," she said.

"Rushed implementation of a system that was not tried and tested has led to the labour Government underestimating the number of exempt patients. The impact will be felt by all patients. It is simply unacceptable that patients seeking NHS dentistry are having to go private."