Neel Kothari asks if the proposed NHS tie-in for dentistry graduates is fair and if it will work in practice.
Recently the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) set out its NHS 10-Year Health Plan, concluding that the NHS was in ‘critical condition’. Whilst the diagnosis is self-evident, its prescription for change regurgitates many of the usual themes, such as increased water fluoridation, increased topical fluoride and fissure sealants, additional urgent care appointments and now a tie-in to the NHS for newly-graduated dentists intended for at least three years. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that there is no upper limit to the planned tie-in.
The DHSC sets out to justify the tie-in by citing training costs of up to £200,000 to the taxpayer. However this is a logically flawed proposition as taxpayers receive the benefit of a qualified dentist regardless of whether they provide NHS care. It is absurd to think that graduates providing private dentistry are of no value to society or that dentists should be singled out to bear this additional burden which extends beyond graduation.
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