The state of NHS dentistry in Beverley
Published:
The sad decline of NHS dentistry. The government has billions for Ukraine, British space programmes etc but none for dentistry, we are told.
Today I spent £69 on a dental checkup. I was told that everything was OK, and there was no need for any treatment. This was undoubtedly a good thing, as the menu of prices at my local dentist showed some very high charges for dental work. I could offset them by signing up to an expensive dental plan, from which presumably a bunch of businessmen siphon off a healthy profit.
Despite having been a loyal customer of my dentist for over 20 years his practice decided several months ago to pull the rug out from under me, and presumably his other patients, and suddenly stop doing NHS work.
So I journeyed to a couple of dentists close to the town centre where I met several receptionists, one of whom was quite rude, who gleefully informed me that there was 'not a hope' of getting an NHS appointment. It is pay or the highway.
Apparently as many as 50% of children in Britain have now not seen a dentist in over a year. This of course means that the dental health of children and future adults is probably deteriorating, and the dental health of the British population will henceforth depend on ability to pay. Many people will not be able to pay, given that living standards have dropped in the United Kingdom in recent years.
As international investment in the British economy falls off post-Brexit, citizens and the government will probably become worse off still. Will there be any money to pay for local dentistry and indeed GP services? Who knows.
I remember in Lincolnshire as a child in the 1970s that it was easy to get a GP appointment, generally on the same morning. A dental appointment was also straightforward.
Sadly at this point, and despite the claims of the Starmer's Labour government, I fear that the best days of local NHS services are probably behind us. More money must be found and more dentists trained if we are to avoid the collapse of high quality primary healthcare in Britain. Finding that money must be a top priority.