‘There are enough dentists in England, just not enough dentists willing to do enough NHS work’ – these are the words of Lord Darzi in his new report into the state of the NHS.
Published today (12 September), Lord Ara Darzi’s full and independent investigation into the state of the NHS concluded the service is in a ‘critical condition’.
Looking at invesment, quality of care and the nation’s health, the report identified serious and widespread problems for people accessing services.
However, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has insisted the NHS ‘may be broken, but it’s not beaten’.
Dentistry is ‘still recovering’
Looking at dentistry, the report said COVID-19 has a lot to answer for when it comes to performance.
The report said: ‘Good dental health is essential for adults and children alike. Yet only about 30% and 40% of NHS dental practices are accepting new child and adult registrations respectively.
‘And as this chart from the Nuffield Trust shows, there are wide variations in the number of NHS dentists per population in different areas of the country. Rural and coastal communities particularly lack access to NHS dentistry.
‘Dental access was particularly badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and is still recovering. If dentistry is to continue as a core NHS service, urgent action is needed to develop a contract that balances activity and prevention, is attractive to dentists and rewards those dentists who practice in less served areas.
‘There are enough dentists in England, just not enough dentists willing to do enough NHS work, which impacts provision for the poorest in society.’
Who is Lord Darzi?
Lord Ara Darzi is director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College, London and an honorary consultant surgeon at Imperial College Hospital NHS Trust.
He also holds the Paul Hamlyn Chair of Surgery at Imperial College London
In 2022, he was knighted for his services in medicine and surgery.
Quality NHS care ‘gone backwards’
Lord Darzi said: ‘Although I have worked in the NHS for more than 30 years, I have been shocked by what I have found during this investigation – not just in the health service but in the state of the nation’s health.
‘We want to deliver high quality care for all but far too many people are waiting for too long and in too many clinical areas, quality of care has gone backwards.
‘My colleagues in the NHS are working harder than ever but our productivity has fallen.
‘We get caught up frantically trying to find beds that have been axed or using IT that is outdated or trying to work out how to get things done because operational processes are overwhelmed. It sucks the joy from our work – we became clinicians to help patients get better, not to go into battle with a broken system.’
Shawn Charlwood is chair of the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee. He said: ‘Lord Darzi has reached the same conclusion as select committees, think tanks and this profession.
‘Past governments have attempted tweaks at the margins. Saving NHS dentistry means fixing a broken contract.’
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