Shared from Dentistry.co.uk
As the dust settles on the General Election and we see Labour's Government take the reins what impact will this have on dentistry? There were great changes promised for dentistry, specifically NHS dentistry, so what will the impact be? It is also worth pointing out at this stage that our dental insurance policies cover NHS and private dentistry. So, whatever state dentistry is in in your area, a dental insurance plan from Get Dental Plans is here to protect your employees oral health.
In its manifesto, the Labour Party pledged to enforce a new Dentistry Rescue Plan, stating that getting an NHS dentist is becoming ‘a lottery’ in the UK.
The plan involves:
Fill the gap of appointments with an extra 700,000 urgent and emergency dental appointments a year
Flood dental deserts with new dentistry graduates, with golden hellos of £20,000 for those who spend at least three years working in underserved areas
Supervised toothbrushing for three to five year olds, to prevent children forced to hospital to have their rotting teeth pulled out
Reform of the dental contract, to rebuild NHS dentistry and make sure everyone who needs a dentist can get one.
At a Sky News general election debate last month, NHS dentistry was a key topic of discussion. An audience member asked Starmer how he would improve access to NHS dentistry, having waited for treatment for over a year.
In response, Starmer said he would generate 700,000 more emergency dental appointments, 100,000 more dental appointments for children and incentivise graduate dentists to practise in the NHS.
During Labour’s election campaign, MP for Ilford North Wes Streeting also promised to meet with dental representatives to begin negotiations on the NHS dental contract following the party’s win.
He said: ‘Unlike lots of the other parts of the NHS, the challenge in dentistry is that we’ve got quite a lot of dentists, but the contract is so out of date that it just doesn’t pay what the dentistry is worth.
‘So we’re going to have to negotiate a new dentistry contract. I’ve committed to getting the BDA in on the Monday after the general election if we win because I see it as that big a priority.’
Whatever your views are on the state of dentistry in the UK, the popularity of dental insurance policies continues to grow. With more dentists moving to private practice, protect your employees with a company dental insurance plan. Contact us today to find out more.
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