Dental Services
Posted by Lee Scott, MP for Ilford North, at 09:13, Wed 16 July 2008:
At the beginning of July the House of Commons Health Select Committee published its report on Dental Services.
Since the establishment of the NHS General Dental Service (GDS) in 1948 the nation’s oral health has improved drastically. However during the 1990 as dentists retired NHS coverage in parts of the country was becoming patchy. The Department of Health came to believe that the existing system encouraged the provision of complex treatments to generate additional income and the payment system gave insufficient encouragement to provide preventive care and advice.
In 2006 the DHS made significant changes to the way dental services would be provided. Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) were given the power to commission dental services and dentists were to be paid for the number of ‘Units of Dental Activity’ (UDA) they provided to patients. They also hope to improve dentists’ working lives.
The Department’s aim of improving patient access to dental services has not been met. Current indications are that levels of service are getting poorer not better. The numbers of dentists providing NHS treatment has declined and patients seen by an NHS dentist fell by 900,000 in two years. The new dental contracts have failed to provide sufficient financial incentives and time for dentists to provide enhanced preventive care. Additionally the Government has acknowledged that PCT commissioning of dental services has been poor.
I want to hear about your experiences of dental care. Have you access to an NHS dentist? What have been your recent experiences of dental treatment? Let me have your views.
Lee Scott
Comments
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Posted by Rosellyne Thompson, 11:15, Wed 16 July 2008: (Is this post abusive?) #
Dear Mr. Scott,
I am a private patient at the Chadwell Heath Dental Anaesthetic Clinic because I suffer from dental anxiety and require any treatment to be performed under IV sedation. Until recently I had very poor oral health due to lack of access to basic NHS dental service provision. I last visited an NHS dentist in Hackney in 2003 and it took 18 months from the initial examination to getting treatment as the work I required at this point was extensive and costly and my case was referred to the Dental Practice Board. By this point my condition had deteriorated to the extent that I had celluitis (facial swelling) from multiple abscesses that cleared up only after three courses of antibiotics. The dentist who eventually treated me admitted that it was the worst case he had seen in his 35-year career and explained that if it had been left much longer, the bacteria could have entered my bloodstream and caused life-threatening complications such as pneumonia, endocarditis (inflammation of the heart) or septicaemia of the brain.
By this point I had moved to Clayhall and was given the option to return to the Hackney practice where I was registered at my previous address because no NHS dentists were taking on new registrations in my local area. I am a 22-year old woman of moderate financial means (I work for the local council as an administrator) and I dearly believe in the NHS and the right to universal healthcare that is free/subsidised at the point of use, but at the same time I feel deeply let down by the NHS and left with no other recourse but to seek treatment from the private sector because it provides me with a personal service that I feel has my best interests at heart.
Although my story is probably not that relevant for your purposes because it was prior to 2006, I hope that it is some help to you and thank you for the work you are doing on behalf of your constituents in this matter, which is much appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Rosellyne Thompson
Posted by David & Pauline Morgan, 14:12, Wed 16 July 2008: (Is this post abusive?) #
Dear Mr Scott,
My wife and I are served extremely well by our dentists in South Woodford, Glebelands Avenue. We are treated efficiently and with respect, courtesy and consideration.
I have been referred to Whipps Cross on only one occasion in 30 years. I received a speedy letter of acknowledgement, but was then left in some pain for a few weeks. I returned to my local dentist under emergency.
With many thanks for all your work.
Yours sincerely,
Pauline & David Morgan