Professionals have warned that the COVID-19 pandemic led to an ‘unparalleled impact’ on NHS dentistry in Scotland, leaving the service facing an existential threat.
As the British Dental Association (BDA) prepares to give evidence to the COVID-19 Recovery Committee inquiry into NHS dentistry today, it has published new findings on the scale of the backlogs.
These include:
- Dentistry has lost over half (52%) of its capacity since lockdown, when comparing examinations delivered since March 2020 with typical levels pre-COVID-19
- For GPs, that figure is just over 30% (when looking at lost face-to-face appointments). It is just over 6% for hospital outpatients and in terms of volume, inpatient care appears to have already recovered lost ground
- By any measure captured in official data, whether it is examinations or Statement of Dental Remuneration (SDR) activity claims, Scotland has lost more than a year’s worth of NHS dentistry
- Ongoing access problems are fuelling backlogs, with patients presenting with higher levels of clinical need. In recent BDA surveys over two thirds (67%) of dentists cite higher needs patients requiring more clinical time as a key issue on return to ‘full’ capacity. The only comparable problems are those concerning recruitment and retention of dentists (61%).
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‘A broken system’
David McColl is chair of the BDA’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee. He said: ‘COVID-19 hit dentistry like no other part of the NHS in Scotland.
‘We’re not asking for special treatment, just a proportionate response. One that recognises the scale of the backlogs and the existential threat to this service.
‘NHS dentists are already walking away from a broken system. There can be no recovery without reform.’
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