Dental experts have said that ‘huge delays’ to the merger of NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will leave dental public health ‘critically unmanned’.
In March 2025, prime minister Keir Starmer announced that NHS England – the administrator which manages the health service – would be abolished due to duplication of roles in the DHSC. This will see NHS England brought under the government, resulting in a 50% reduction in staff.
A staff meeting today (28 January) saw plans for the merger more clearly defined. The government said: ‘This is not about merging two organisations but building something more efficient and adaptable that feels truly new and empowers colleagues while maximising value for money.’
However, the British Dental Association (BDA) said there has been little material progress on this change despite it being announced almost a year ago. The association believes that more than 4,100 applications for the NHS England voluntary redundancy scheme are now being reviewed, though no clarity has yet been provided for affected staff.
Unclear if dental public health experts ‘even have a future’
The DHSC’s current timetable may allow staff who remain in situ after the merger to take up new roles in April 2027. Until April 2026, the DHSC will be defining its new role, vision, accountabilities and functions to create a ‘target operating model’. Between March and August 2026, this will be further developed to build a more detailed organisational design.
These more detailed proposals will then be put through a formal consultation process from October to November 2026. Finally, there will be individual consultation on the filling of posts between January and March 2027, with employees to start their new roles in April.
However, the BDA said this approach would leave the dental public health workforce ‘critically undermanned’.
BDA chair Eddie Crouch said: ‘Colleagues left in the dark over the future of their roles are being told they will feel “empowered”. The reality is our members are being offered euphemisms rather than real clarity.
‘A dental public health workforce was critically understaffed before talk of merger. We will stand up for a workforce left in limbo, for all the experts in their field unclear if they even have a future.’
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