NHS dentistry contracts under scrutiny ahead of review
Dentists should be limited in the amount of private work they take on, a think tank has said. The New Local Government Network (NLGN), which promotes modernisation of public services, said, ahead of a Government review of NHS dentistry, that voluntary contracts between dentists and the NHS "must come to an end."
Chris Leslie, director at NLGN, said: "There is clearly a problem with a lack of basic NHS capacity, despite valiant attempts by the Government at a national level injecting an additional 8.5% of resources this year following the extra 11% increase granted in 2008/9.
'When the typical dentist has received the benefit of around £175,000 of taxpayer investment in their training and development, there should be a greater obligation on those individuals to give more back to the community and dedicate a greater proportion of time to NHS work. This should go beyond current obligations for twelve months within the NHS context."
However the British dental Association (BDA) pointed out there were dentists who wanted to do more NHS work, but were unable. Susie Sanderson, chair of the BDA board, said: "Since reforms to NHS dentistry were imposed in 2006, care has been commissioned directly from dentists or dental practices by primary care trusts. Contracts are based on the completion of, and funding for, a fixed amount of care.
"The size of these contracts varies greatly. Those with smaller contracts will normally also provide private care. In some instances, dentists have either not been awarded NHS contracts at all, or been awarded NHS contracts that are for smaller NHS commitments than they would have liked."
The Citizens Advice Bureau estimated that up to 7.4 million people may not have adequate access to NHS dental care.
