NHS dentistry 'needs to improve'

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The findings of an independent review into NHS dental services – which said more needs to be done to improve the services NHS patients receive – have been welcomed by Health Secretary Andy Burnham.

While the review said that access to NHS dentistry was improving, it called for piloted schemes to promote better access, prevention and high quality patient care and recommended new ways of encouraging dentists to take on new patients and the NHS to help patients register with a dentist.

The review wanted a significant part of dentists' income to be linked to the number of NHS patients registered with them, not just the number of treatments they provide. It wanted dentists to be more accountable for providing high quality and long lasting treatments, and it called for clearer explanation of the rights patients can expect when they register with an NHS dentist. Patients should be able to register online via the NHS Choices website or by calling NHS Direct and the NHS should also provide a local helpline to help people find an NHS dentist and understand what they are entitled to.

Professor Jimmy Steele, author of the Independent Review of NHS Dental Services said: "This review is a vision of a better deal for both patients and dentists. It's about making sure that patients can see an NHS dentist who will take long term responsibility for their care. We have recommended some significant changes to the system by which dentists are paid in order to support their work with patients to improve oral health, prevent oral disease and provide treatment of the highest quality."

Burnham commented: "Access to NHS dentistry is already improving and new NHS dental surgeries are opening up all over the country. From the autumn, many of these will be asked to pilot the changes that the review has recommended. I recognise that more needs to be done to bring NHS dentistry up to the standards that patient should expect, and we and the NHS are committed to ensuring that anyone can access high-quality dental services."

The Liberal Democrat shadow health secretary Norman Lamb said that the review showed that NHS dentistry was a national disgrace.

"The government has repeatedly botched efforts to reform dentistry services in this country," he said. "A&E departments across the country are witnessing a massive rise in people needing emergency treatment on their teeth [because] they simply can't get access to an NHS dentist. The crisis in dentistry is a national disgrace. The near-destruction of NHS dentistry will be one of Labour's most shameful legacies."