MORE PEOPLE living in the Midlands have tried and failed to get an appointment than anywhere else in England, the profession’s leaders said today (Wednesday, July 17).
Analysis from the British Dental Association (BDA) of dental data in the recently published GP Patient Survey by Ipsos shows an estimated 1million adults tried and failed to secure an appointment in the last two years.
The survey in conjunction with NHS England suggests the unmet need for NHS dentistry in the Midlands now stands at 2.2million or one in four of the adult population.
This includes 800,000 who have given up trying to make appointments as they did not think they could secure care and around 130,000 who have indicated they were on waiting lists.
The cost of care is also estimated to have pushed 26,000 away from getting treatment.
The industry body has warned unmet need for NHS dentistry is now at an all-time high, with official data showing no signs of recovery for the struggling service.
‘Encouraging signs’
The BDA has, however, been encouraged by the new Government’s policy to view the NHS as ‘broken’, together with an acknowledgement in early talks with Secretary of State Wes Streeting MP. Those discussions on the role the dental contract is playing in the current crisis.
Dentist leaders have stressed the urgency here, pressing for a short-term rescue package to keep practices afloat, ahead of longer term reform of the contract.
Shawn Charlwood, chair of the British Dental Association’s general dental practice committee said: “NHS dentistry has effectively ceased to exist for millions across this country.
“A new government has inherited old problems, but luckily hasn’t followed in its predecessor’s footsteps by pretending this crisis has been solved. These numbers are a stark reminder we need urgency and ambition to save this service.”
Meanwhile, latest workforce statistics from NHS England reveal that the Midlands has the lowest number of dentists at 42 per 100,000 population (see above) compared to the rest of England.
How the West Midlands fares
A breakdown of the region shows that across Coventry and Warwickshire there are 48 dentists per 100,000 people, with Herefordshire and Worcestershire at 50. This compares with 78 dentists per 100,000 people in Leicester, the best served part of the Midlands.
When approached for a comment, Chris Bain chief executive, Healthwatch Warwickshire, suggested the issue was more nuanced than the data showed.
“In my experience, the overall ratio of dentists to people is not the most important statistic.
“It is the postcode lottery of provision – the dental deserts in Rugby and Stratford-upon-Avon – and the vagaries of a dental contract which allow dentists to refuse NHS Dentistry, that are the more significant challenges.
“The overall ratio of dentists to people can mask a myriad of local problems,” he said.
Election pledges
During its election campaign, the new Government promised to provide 700,000 additional urgent dentist appointments and that cannot come soon enough for Rosemary Taggio who spoke to us about the protracted difficulties she had had getting her son Edward urgent NHS dental care this year in the Stratford-upon-Avon area.
Mrs Taggio, who lives in Alcester, said the problem started last August when he started experiencing toothache in between his regular check-ups.
Edward, then 19, was told by the Alcester dental practice he had been going to since the age of 10 that he could no longer be treated as an NHS patient. The reason given was that now he was out of full-time education he could only be seen as a private patient.
Mrs Taggio struggled to find an NHS dentist for her son. Picture by Lise Evans.
Mrs Taggio said they were quoted between £170 to £230 for a consultation and treatment.
Reliant on welfare benefits at the time, the family could not afford it.
“We knew it was bad as the toothache was really severe as I was giving him painkillers all the time,” she said.
“He was an absolute misery.”
With Edward in needing urgent care, she rang more than 30 local dentists in south Warwickshire and Worcestershire area to get him seen as an NHS patient but without success. In desperation, she called her GP surgery, but they could not help him either.
“On the advice of some of the dental receptionists I called NHS 111 who referred me to Birmingham Hospital, but they couldn’t help.
“On a friend’s advice I contacted Evesham Hospital but was told as we lived in Warwickshire, Edward couldn’t be a patient,” she said.
They gave her a number for the Warwickshire emergency dental service who gave Edward a one-off appointment at Stratford Hospital Dental Clinic on August 16. After miserable weeks of suffering Edward had a troublesome tooth extracted.
“It was so bad the hospital said it couldn’t be saved,” said Mrs Taggio.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of 2024 toothache returned in another tooth, but Stratford Hospital Dental Clinic said he could not continue to be treated there as he was not registered as having special needs.
Again, she undertook a massive ring round of more than 30 dental practices to try and get him seen as an NHS patient but without success.
NHS dentist secured
Finally, a friend tipped Mrs Taggio off that Henley Dental Practice, Henley-in-Arden was taking on NHS patients. She got him registered as a patient and initially seen on March 8. She said he was charged £20 for a consultation and a further £40 for four fillings later that month.
She said it was a huge relief to finally get him the care he needed but criticises the current system which she said is deeply frustrating and disappointing. “I think there should be a better system than to have to ring a list of 30-odd numbers and get nowhere,” she said.
“I was absolutely desperate to get him out of this pain. He was very ratty and unhappy. I was trying my best but clutching at straws basically.”
“I didn’t expect the process to be as hard as it was. Ring six dentists and you’d think at least one might take him but to have to ring 35 numbers and get nowhere – you wouldn’t expect that. The NHS has got to have a better system.”
Coventry and Warwickshire ICB has been responsible for commissioning NHS dentistry services across Coventry and Warwickshire since April 2023.
The NHS response
When approached for comment about Mrs Taggio’s experience, a spokesperson for NHS Coventry and Warwickshire said it was working hard to ensure people across the area have the best possible access to dental care.
“However, we recognise that access to NHS dentistry remains a challenge and we are constantly exploring ways in which we can continue to improve the services we offer.
“The Dental Recovery Plan [announced by the previous Government in February] will help us to further increase access to dental services across Coventry and Warwickshire.
“This includes introducing incentives for local NHS dental practices to see patients that have not been seen for over two years, increasing the minimum payment rate paid to NHS dental practices for dental activity and providing funding to enable some NHS dental practices to offer a £20k ‘golden hello’ to help them recruit to their vacancies.
“We would encourage anyone who has a complaint regarding NHS dental treatment to raise their concerns via the official complaints’ procedure.
“Furthermore, anyone that requires urgent treatment should contact NHS111 who will be able to refer them to an appropriate local service.”
See King’s Fund website for a useful explainer about how NHS dentistry in England works.
