Cambridgeshire campaigners keep up pressure to overturn 'ridiculous' NHS dental crisis
Pressure mounts on the need for reforms to NHS dentistry
A campaign group in Cambridgeshire is bidding to keep the pressure on local authorities this year to improve what it's described as "a ridiculous situation" in NHS dental care.
Last month, a Healthwatch England report warned of regional inequalities in access to care and a a sharp rise in dental-related attendances at A&E, with visits up 45% since 2019/20.
Toothless in England - a volunteer-led campaign group - described the findings as evidence of a “humanitarian crisis” and called for urgent reform of NHS dentistry.
"A couple of years ago, a chap travelled all the way back to Ukraine for dental treatment because the travel and treatment was cheaper than having it done here," Simon Brignell, founder of Toothless in Huntingdon, said.
"It's a ridiculous situation."
Four of 12 placements filled
Ahead of Cambridgeshire County Council's health scrutiny committee meeting last month, figures reported by the county's Integrated Care Board (ICB) showed 16 out of 87 NHS dental practices in the region have taken on any emergency appointments.
However, 69 out of the 87 are not accepting new NHS patients.
In Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, 12 placements were offered by the Government as part of a national recruitment scheme to get more dentists working in underserved areas.
As part of the scheme, dentists would be paid up to £20,000 for up to three years.
Four of the 12 placements have since been filled in Fenland, Huntingdonshire and East Cambridgeshire.
NHS dentists 'full to the brim'
In his motion to the council committee meeting in December, Mr Brignell said he was aware of stories of "untreated dental pain, loss of teeth, repeated removal from NHS practice lists, and unaffordable private charges."
"The vast majority of these NHS dentists are full to the brim with work, and if they're overloaded with work, the tendency for them is probably going to be to start backing away from the NHS contract," he told us.
"People are getting desperate; there's been a couple of incidents of people pulling out their own teeth.
"What the ICB needs to do is to make a representation to the health secretary and get that contract reformed; it won't be the magic bullet that attracts dentists back to the NHS, but it's going to be the starting platform."
Dental reforms
Some of the reforms to NHS dentistry announced by the Government include improving access to urgent dental care, including paying dentists more to see patients with severe pain, infections or dental trauma.
Patients needing complex care would also be able to book a single package of treatment rather than multiple appointments, a move the Department of Health and Social Care says could save patients around £225.
Pippa Heylings - Liberal Democrat MP for South Cambridgeshire - said she welcomes the reforms but fears they're not "going to stop the rot".
'There is more to do'
NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough said it's working to recruit dentists to fill the remaining eight placements under the national recruitment scheme.
“We understand how important accessing NHS dental care is for local people, and that’s why we are working hard with dentists across the area to increase appointments,” a spokesperson said.
While the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) admits there is more work to do to improve NHS dentistry.
“We are working hard to turn things around, rolling out extra urgent dental appointments and reforming the dental contract to increase capacity and get more NHS dentists on the frontline," a DHSC spokesperson said.
"There is more to do but this government is determined to fix Britain's broken dental sector."