Ring fenced cash for dental care gone on strikes

Over 20,000 people in Plymouth waiting for a dentist

Cash that should have been used to provide more dental care in Plymouth has been used to pay for costs incurred through industrial action by NHS workers, it has been claimed.

The city’s public health consultant Rob Nelder told city council cabinet members that the money is no longer available this year and the “rug has been pulled from beneath” the council.

He said the NHS had to find money to cover the costs of strikes across the country and Plymouth’s underspend on dentistry – between £7 million and £9 million – is being used for that purpose.

The underspend or ‘clawback’ is because some dentists haven’t provided NHS appointments and historically this money has been returned to the government.

Plymouth had fought to get the cash ‘ringfenced’ for the city and Mr Nelder said its dental task force had been going forward in “good faith” that this would happen.

He said the city would now have to wait until next year before it got any money.

Council leader Tudor Evans (Lab, Ham) said: “We should be making a real fuss about this,” he said.

“If we have to wait another year we know it will be halfway through 2024/25 before we hear if we can keep the underspend. We need that money sooner rather than later.”

More than 20,000 people in Plymouth are waiting to see an NHS dentist and the city has high levels of tooth decay in young children, many of whom have never seen a dentist.

The NHS says 50 per cent of the population should have access to NHS dental care, but in Plymouth it is 25 per cent.

A dental task force was set up in the city to respond to the crisis after hearing that some people resort to DIY solutions to extract their own teeth.

Eighty-three children from five Plymouth primary schools are now registered with NHS dental care through Peninisula Dental Social Enterprise, which is part of the task force, and they will continue to get appointments until they are 16.

Cabinet member for health Cllr Mary Aspinall (Lab, Sutton and Mount Gould) said: “A key focus for us is lobbying the NHS and the government to ensure that we receive our fair share of funding. We are really keen to ensure that any money allocated to Plymouth is not lost because the current model for delivery isn’t working.

“There are still thousands of residents unable to access NHS dentistry, so this is just the beginning of our work. We’ll continue to strive to make a difference and fight for more financial support for Plymouth until residents receive the dental healthcare they deserve.”

Chair of the British Dental Association’s general dental practice committee Shawn Charlwood said if the government is banking on underspends to plug holes in its balance sheet, millions of patients would lose out.

“Once again, NHS dentistry is being treated as the ‘Cinderella Service,’” he said.

“When we desperately need ambition and investment, officials are raiding our budgets, robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

According to NHS Providers, strikes this year have resulted in £2 billion in lost income to the NHS from delayed operations, scans and procedures, and the direct costs of providing cover for striking staff.

NHS workers, including doctors, nurses and ambulance staff, say the strikes were in response to pay and  concerns about the safety of patients.