Experts have warned that cuts to dental public health roles could weaken prevention work in some of England’s most deprived communities, despite the government reducing the scale of its original plans.
An initial government consultation proposed significant cuts to dental public health consultant positions across the UK. For example, the south west was due to see 1.85 whole-time-equivalent posts reduced to just one. This has now been increased to 1.35 following the release of the consultation outcome report.
The reduction in staff is part of the government’s plan to abolish NHS England and bring its functions under the Department of Health and Social Care. In the midlands, three dental public health positions will be carried over into the new system out of the current seven. While the initial consultation proposed that only two posts should remain, one additional post was retained by converting a public health position into a dental public health role.
Defending dental public health
The British Dental Association (BDA) said the reductions in cuts ‘don’t do enough to protect this strategically essential function’.
BDA chair Eddie Crouch said: ‘We have argued forcibly to defend and expand the vital dental public health role. We’ve made NHS England exercise some restraint here, but it does not go far enough to protect a vital function.
‘There is a loss of 58% in the midlands dental public health workforce, which has some of the most deprived communities in the country where prevention programmes are paramount.
‘We’ve curbed these plans, but cuts still run deep, and any protection here shouldn’t be at the expense of public health colleagues. These are distinct specialities, and this is not a game of either/or.
‘The government likes to talk the talk on prevention. It will not be able to deliver on that agenda without a serious, long-term commitment to and investment in these expert roles.’
‘The same challenges remain’
The decision to bring NHS England under the government is estimated to result in a 50% reduction in staff, aiming to avoid duplication across the two organisations.
Announcing the abolition, prime minister Keir Starmer said: ‘I can’t, in all honesty, explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy. That money could and should be spent on, nurses, doctors, operations, GP appointments. So today, I can announce we’re going to cut bureaucracy across the state, focus government on the priorities of working people, and shift money to the front line.’
Thomas Reynolds, director of policy and communications at the Medical Defence Union (MDU), said: ‘Regardless of where control of the NHS sits in England – with central government or another body – the same challenges remain.
‘From ensuring the workforce is properly supported, to having regulatory frameworks which enable healthcare professionals to get on with the job of caring for patients, to tackling unsustainable costs facing the NHS such as those associated with clinical negligence: all require urgent attention. They cannot be sidelined in this latest health service structure.’
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