Exclusive:
EXCLUSIVE: A Mirror investigation has revealed virtually no dentists in England are now taking on new NHS patients, with dental practices across the country failing to accept new members
Virtually no dentists in England are now taking on new NHS patients.
A Mirror investigation suggests 96% of dental practices are not accepting new adult patients – despite a rule change wrongly indicating more were taking people on.
Our Reach data unit analysed more than 6,500 practices on the NHS “Find a Dentist” website and found 4,800, or 73%, are not currently accepting new adult patients. One in 10 constituencies in England did not have a single NHS dentist accepting new adult patients.
A joint Mirror investigation with the British Dental Association then contacted a sample of 100 practices which were listed as accepting new adult patients “when availability allows”. It revealed 84 of these are actually not currently accepting new NHS patients. One stated its waiting list was “at least ten years”.
Taken together this suggests 96% of practices are not taking new adult NHS patients. BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said: “The information on the NHS website was redesigned to give cover to the last Government. But until the new Government keep their promises, millions will face long hours on the phone, struggling to access care.”
The Health Select Committee has labelled the NHS dental payment contract “not fit for purpose”. It pays dentists the same amount for three fillings as 20, and claws back vital funds from dentistry when practices miss targets. Along with huge real-terms cuts to the dentistry budget the payment contract has led to many dentists going private.
The Tories’ unveiled a so-called “recovery plan” before the General Election before admitting it would not reform the contract or come with any additional funding. The BDA claimed it was designed to kick the issue of dentistry into the long grass.
Just weeks later it published posters on social media promoting the plan, claiming nearly 500 more practices across England had started accepting new adult patients as of April 8.
However this was because on April 2 the definition of access on the NHS Find a Dentist website was changed from just a yes/no answer, with the caveat added asking whether they were accepting new NHS patients “when availability allows”.
Those who cannot get NHS appointments are largely reliant on expensive private care with rural and coastal areas some of the worst affected. See which dentists are accepting NHS patients in your area using our interactive map:
The BDA said: “This status effectively measures whether practices ‘want’ to take on new patients, not if they actually can at this time.” The professional body says this approach gives patients “false hope” when in reality in the vast majority of cases they have no chance of an actual appointment.
Our new analysis of the Find a Dentist website showed children are also struggling to get an NHS dentist. As of November 18 some 62% of NHS dentists on the site were not accepting children aged 17 or under. It suggests 43 constituencies don’t have a single practice accepting new child patients.
For adult patients 53 constituencies with a combined adult population of 4.8 million people without any available NHS dentists at all.
Mr Crouch added: “Every week I speak to MPs reporting how deep the crisis in NHS dentistry goes. There are votes to be won and lost here, and constituents are looking for action. If this ends up as another line on a pledge card at the next General Election there simply won’t be a service left to save.”
