The British Dental Association (BDA) took to the Conservative Party Conference today to stress the ‘ailing’ state of NHS dentistry to the delegates.
Taking place in Manchester, the BDA stood outside the conference with a poster which recreated the Conservative Party’s iconic ‘Labour isn’t working’ poster into ‘NHS dentistry isn’t working’.
With the government yet to honour pledges for an NHS dentistry rescue plan, the BDA took to the conference to spread the message about the need to restore NHS dentistry.
This comes after Rishi Sunak pledged to restore NHS dentistry if he became Prime Minister during last summer’s leadership race in an attempt to alleviate the ‘unprecedented pressure’ dentistry is under. So far, no action to do so has taken place.
This year’s Conservative Party Conference, termed #CPC23, follows reports of daily queues from 4am in Leigh, Greater Manchester, outside a dental practice which is offering appointments to NHS patients on a first-come-first-served basis.
On X, the BDA posted: ‘@RishiSunak pledged to “restore” NHS dentistry when he ran for the top job. But there’s no sign of the change we need to ensure this service has a future. Around the corner from #CPC23 patients have queued from 4am for an appointment. NHS Dentistry needs a rescue plan.’
.@RishiSunak pledged to "restore" NHS dentistry when he ran for the top job.
But there's no sign of the change we need to ensure this service has a future.
Around the corner from #CPC23 patients have queued from 4am for an appointment.
🛟 NHS Dentistry needs a rescue plan pic.twitter.com/9BvlQ8FwEf
— BDA (@TheBDA) October 2, 2023
Giving up hope
Eddie Crouch, BDA chair, said: ‘While Ministers drag their heels on a rescue plan, patients are queuing from the crack of dawn and many dentists are giving up hope of change.
‘Rishi Sunak ran for the top job with a promise to “restore” NHS dentistry, and so far that promise is being broken.
‘If this government fails to step up there may not be a service left to save.’
This comes after new data found that more than 4.4 million children in England were not seen by an NHS dentist in the last year.
Led by the Liberal Democrats, the research showed that 38.7% of children across the country had not received the annual NHS checkup recommended in the health service’s guidelines.
As a result, a dental practice in Cornwall is to kickstart an NHS pilot scheme whereby only patients under 18, over 80, or with specific health needs will be seen. This scheme aims to provide help to those most at need.
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