Health leaders claim Suffolk dental appointment shortage is due to recruitment issues
Health leaders have claimed that there is a shortage of dental appointments in Suffolk due to long-standing recruitment issues in the area.
Following a recent march, which was organised by Toothless in Suffolk, health leaders have appealed for patience as they try to encourage more dental professionals to fill vacancies in the region.
At a meeting of East Suffolk Council’s health and scrutiny committee, Paul Rolfe, from Suffolk Local Dental Committee, said there was a shortage of trained dentists, which was partly due to the fact that most dentists choose to work where they study or grow up.
There aren’t many students going to dental schools locally or coming back to the area once they have qualified, which is making it difficult to find dentists to take up job offers in Suffolk.
Traditionally, a large number of posts have been filled by dentists from other countries, including New Zealand and European nations, but recruitment has been more difficult due to Covid and Brexit.
Jason Stokes, from Norfolk Local Dental Committee, suggested that the current contracts were not “fit for purpose” and were putting practices off bidding for NHS work.
Head of commissioning for the East of England at NHS England, David Barter, indicated that work is underway to produce new contracts, which will “allow all dental clinical professionals in the dental team, overseen by dentists, to provide good oral care for patients” and increase availability of services seven days a week.
For more news click here.
Join this Discussion