Government confirms extra £50 million investment to tackle dental appointment backlog
The government is investing an extra £50 million in NHS dental services in a bid to tackle a huge backlog in dental appointments.
The extra money will be used to fund 350,000 dental appointments, with dentists offered more to work during the evenings and weekends. Under new guidelines, dentists who are willing to treat patients outside of normal working hours will be offered more than a third extra to take on additional hours.
The drive, which has been described as a “treatment blitz” by NHS England, will enable patients to attend dental appointments early in the mornings, as well as during weekday evenings and weekends. Children and patients with mental health conditions, learning difficulties and severe autism will be prioritised for treatment under the new scheme.
Data suggests that around 38 million dental appointments have been missed during the pandemic, and there are significant backlogs to clear. Ministers are hoping that the extra funding will help dental teams to reduce waiting times and enable patients who need treatment to see an NHS dentist quicker.
Chief dental officer for England, Sara Hurley, said that the funding will enable thousands of people to access routine dental services, which have been severely disrupted over the last 18 months.
The British Dental Association has welcomed extra money for NHS dentistry but said that dental practices don’t have the capacity to clear backlogs. Shawn Charlwood, chair of the BDA general dental practice committee, criticised what he called a “time-limited offer” and suggested that most practices are already working flat out to provide extra appointments.
Mr Charlwood said that the funding is “progress” but there is a long way to go, and the £50 million cash injection is just the start of what is required to “rebuild a service millions depend on.”
For more news click here.
Join this Discussion