The British Dental Association (BDA) has written to the new Health Secretary and urged him to reform NHS dentistry ‘without any further delay’.
The union hopes for immediate action as without it, ‘NHS dentistry in England faces a slow death’.
This comes amidst an avalanche of resignations within government that have provoked a resignation from the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
The chaos throws into question the future of the government and, as a result, the future of NHS dentistry.
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Drift of talent
The letter reads: ‘Covid has accelerated a process that has been in motion for over a decade.
‘For 16 years perverse government targets have come before patient care, while dental budgets were subject to savage cuts unparalleled elsewhere in our health service.
‘A system that funds care for barely half the population has creaked on. The drift of talent out of the NHS continued. Now – as we move out of the pandemic – we face a historic backlog, an exodus from the workforce, and widening oral health inequality.
‘NHS dentistry is at a tipping point. It is clear that without urgent action, we will soon pass a point of no return.’
The BDA argue that the scale of change across government is likely to have an impact on the sign-off of new policies.
This includes those that require input from multiple departments, including the Department of Health and Social Care and the Treasury.
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