Good Morning Britain’s presenter Richard Madeley has responded following outrage from the dental profession over controversial comments he made about NHS dentistry.
He said: ‘I was talking to a private dentist only last week, who was saying that so many people now have to go private because NHS dentists are not capable of doing extractions anymore.
‘They are simply not trained up to that level.’
His comments sparked upset from the dental profession, with the BDA saying he ‘wholly misrepresented’ the current crisis in dentistry.
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Fit for purpose
Yesterday, BDA chair Eddie Crouch appeared on the morning TV programme to set the record straight.
He responded to Madeley’s claim that many are reluctant to carry out extractions. ‘Litigation in this country for dentistry is a real serious problem,’ he said.
‘It does cause defensive dentistry. Many of my colleagues are worried about litigation.
‘But to actually say that many of my colleagues aren’t taking out teeth on the NHS and referring to A&E – A&E is the wrong place for people to go with dental problems, that’s for sure.’
He added: ‘We need a service that’s actually fit for purpose and adequately funded. If we’re not going to get that, we need to have an honest conversation with the public, profession and politicians about what sort of service they want.’
Madeley said: ‘I would say, don’t shoot the messenger. I’m a reporter and I report what I’m told. It wasn’t my personal opinion yesterday, I was reporting what a veteran dentist had told me.’
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