‘Morale is at rock bottom’: NHS has ‘no appetite’ to tackle Wakefield’s dental crisis, report says

A damning report into the dire state of dental services in Wakefield says NHS England has ‘no appetite’ to tackle the crisis.

Figures also show that 40 per cent of 12-year-old in the district have tooth decay.

Chronic government underfunding, the Covid pandemic, Brexit, staff shortages and ‘rock bottom’ morale within the dental profession are among the reasons why thousands of patients are unable to access a dentist.

The report states: “NHS England centrally have failed to make the necessary changes over many years to commission a dental service adequate to meet the needs of the population.

“They have obfuscated over the necessary reforms and any changes that are brought in are delayed by the bureaucratic processes, meaning they are often too little, too late.

“Locally, there does not seem to be an appetite to address the growing population of the City of Wakefield with additional development of NHS dental services.”

In July last year, Wakefield Council voted in favour of a motion calling on the government to urgently reform NHS dental services.

The council also called upon its adults services, public health and NHS scrutiny committee to investigate the state of dentistry across the district.

The committee’s report, to be put to a full council meeting on January 18, was prepared after members heard from local dental healthcare professionals.

The report says underfunding since 2010 has resulted in a drop in average income for dentists of between 30 and 40 per cent.

Reduced income has also had an effect on the amount dentists have been able to pay staff members.

The report says: “Many have left to work in better paid and less restricted jobs in supermarkets and the like. Morale in dental teams is rock bottom.”

Committee members heard more dentists are taking early retirement and practices are looking to bolster their income through private work.

The report says new graduates are opting to go straight into private practice rather than work for the NHS due to leaving university with student loans of up £100,000 after five years at dental school.

The report adds: “They have no desire to contemplate working within the NHS where remuneration has been restricted over the years.

“Indeed, there are an increasing number of graduates who are not even registering with the General Dental Council necessary to enter the profession in the first place.”

The most common concerns expressed by patients are that local dentists are not taking on new patients, routine appointments are being cancelled and a lack of emergency appointments.

The report also refers to the lack of dental provision for Wakefield’s growing population.

It says: “Wakefield is seeing a huge increase in housing development in the Lupset and Stanley localities, yet no provision has been made to provide additional dental care to the increasing population.

“With the development of the Integrated Care Boards, dentistry seems to be very low on the list of priorities.

“Attempts have been made by the LDC (Local Dental Committee) to discuss how dentistry and oral health might fit in with plans at both Wakefield and West Yorkshire levels. There has been minimal engagement.”

The report also highlights how availability has further reduced since the pandemic.

It says: “There remains a large back-log of patients who have not been seen for routine examinations since 2020.

“As these patients are now coming forward, they are often presenting with treatment needs which require additional time to provide the care required, including untreated gum disease and decay.

“This in turn is delaying practices working through the back-log as treatment is provided.”

The pressure of working during Covid has also taken its toll on dental staff.

The report adds: “The effect on the workforce has been the most significant.

“The stress of working in enhanced PPE over prolonged periods and the prospect of having to return to the activity rates pre-pandemic have left team members considering their future either by reducing their working commitments or leaving the industry altogether.