Getting access to an NHS Dentist is a difficulty that has been around for some time, with it having become increasingly more difficult since the Covid pandemic. The number of new dentists working for the NHS has not kept up with population growth since the late 90s, and a greater disparity has grown between working privately and taking NHS work. I welcome that serious efforts are being made to help address these difficulties.
From last Friday 1 March, Dental practices will benefit from extra cash for taking on new NHS patients. This is the latest milestone in the Conservative government’s plan to make millions more dental appointments available. Participating NHS practices can now benefit from payments of either £50 or £15, depending on care, for each new patient they treat. Recognising that some people haven’t been having regular check-ups, this will apply for any patient who has not seen an NHS dentist over the past two years.
The payment is in addition to the existing funding that the practice receives for treating patients. Dentists delivering core NHS services, including examination, diagnosis and treatment, will be eligible for this additional patient premium.
The plan builds on existing work to improve access to dentistry, with the government investing more than £3 billion each year to support the sector. Last year, 1.7 million more adults and around 800,000 more children saw an NHS dentist compared to the previous year. The new patient premium will mean that around one million new patients, defined as patients who have not seen an NHS dentist in two years or more, will be able to access appointments, through the scheme and wider measures in the dental recovery plan, which is backed by £200 million.
The government and NHS aim to deliver an extra 2.5 million appointments for patients over the next 12 months. This forms part of a range of wider initiatives to improve access to local health services, including making it easier to get help from your GP practice and expanding community pharmacies services. I look forward to see these plans increase access to appointments in Crawley.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
6th March 2024
