Exclusive:
Zippo. Zilch. Zero. None at all. The £20,000 “golden hello” to new dentists has been paid out exactly no times in the seven months since the Tory ex-PM launched it
Rishi Sunak’s flagship dentist recruitment drive has been branded “toothless” after it failed to attract a single new dentist, seven months after its launch.
The former Prime Minister vowed to create “millions more NHS dental appointments” through the Dental Recruitment Scheme, which offered a £20,000 “golden hello” to new NHS dentists.
But no payments have yet been made under the scheme, the Department for Health and Social Care said.
“The Conservatives talked a good game,” a Government source said.
“But seven months on and not a single dentist has been recruited to where they’re needed most. Their toothless pledge is another example of Tory overpromising and underdelivering, which is why voters booted them out.”
Launching the scheme in February, Mr Sunak admitted “accessing a dentist isn’t as easy as it should be.”
The new Labour government is urging dentists to take up the lucrative offer, and fill 240 vacancies in under-served areas.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “NHS dentistry has been left in a sorry state, with patients too often unable to get the treatment they need. The golden hello payments were designed to get more dentists into areas where it’s most difficult to book an appointment. We urge any dentists considering their next move to take advantage of this offer and help us rebuild dentistry in the areas that need it most.
“We’re getting dentistry back on its feet, starting with delivering 700,000 urgent and emergency dental appointments.”
The government source added: “We are now gripping this scheme, to put NHS dentists in the places that need them, as a first step to rebuilding NHS dentistry.”
