British Dental Association issues warning over the future of NHS dentistry in Wales
The British Dental Association (BDA) has issued a stark warning over the future of NHS dentistry in Wales.
The BDA claims that dentists could leave the NHS en masse as a result of the stresses and strains of offering NHS dental services. Changes to the contract in Wales are pushing dentists to consider switching to private dentistry or even quitting the profession, according to the association.
The Welsh Government has introduced modifications to try to boost appointment numbers by around 112,000 per year but the changes have put additional pressure on dentists, the BDA claims.
A recent BDA survey revealed that over a third of NHS dentists in Wales are thinking about reducing their NHS obligations. More than 10% said they planned to give their NHS contract up by March 2023.
Chair of the BDA’s Welsh General Committee, Russel Gidney, suggested that new targets were unobtainable for NHS dentists given the scale of Covid backlogs. Increasing the number of new patient appointments means that dentists are spending longer with patients. As many patients haven’t been to the dentist for a long time due to Covid, the risk of dental issues is also higher, which means that dentists are carrying out more complex treatments and procedures, which take longer.
Mr Gidney warned that there is a genuine risk of NHS dentistry in Wales disappearing, with a growing number of practice owners looking to hand back their contracts and dentists considering private dentistry, retirement or alternative career paths.
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