Dentists might have to work for the NHS, mate, as part of a plan to ease the pressure on appointments. The Prime Minister wants to "tie in" fresh dental graduates, making sure they contribute to the health service in return for the massive public subsidy they've received.
According to Rishi Sunak, a whopping two-thirds of dental students end up focusing solely on private practice. That's left thousands of people struggling to find an NHS dentist. A survey last year revealed that a staggering 90 percent of UK practices weren't accepting new adult NHS patients.
Now, Mr. Sunak also reckons we need more non-dentists to chip in with dental work. The idea is to treat more people more quickly, you know?
But hold on a tick! The British Dental Association (BDA) ain't too pleased with these plans. They reckon it's like handcuffing the next generation to a sinking ship. Ouch!
These proposals are part of the NHS workforce plan, which the Prime Minister reckons is the most radical reform in 75 years. They've allocated a whopping £2.4 billion to sort out a deficit of up to 360,000 NHS staff. They're creating loads of junior and apprentice roles and speeding up clinical training, trying to bridge the gap.
They've got big dreams, they have. They want a tenfold increase in medical apprentices over 15 years, with heaps of doctors and nurses kick-starting their training right after A-levels.
Last year, The Telegraph revealed that over a quarter of pensioners were scared they'd have to yank their own teeth out because of the shortage of NHS dentists. Blimey!
A survey showed that four out of ten people, across all ages, would consider doing some DIY dentistry. The young 'uns were most up for it. And here's the kicker—most folks reckon they'll have to pay for private dental care 'cause it's getting harder to find appointments on the NHS. That's according to the polling, mind you.
The BDA reckons that in England alone, we've lost over 47 million NHS dental appointments since lockdown. That's a bloomin' lot, isn't it?
In this workforce plan, they're bang on about wanting better value for the moolah the taxpayers fork out to educate and train dentists. They reckon they can do more to support and encourage qualified dental professionals to spend more time delivering NHS dental care. Sounds like a plan, right?
One thing they're considering is introducing incentives or a tie-in period to make sure dentists spend a good chunk of time working for the NHS after they graduate. It's only fair, innit? After all, they've had a whopper of a subsidy from the taxpayer, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The Prime Minister, Mr. Sunak, reckons the simple answer is yes and yes when asked if more dentists should be working for the NHS instead of going private. He's well aware of the challenges in NHS dentistry, and he's open to the idea of a tie-in to get more dentists doing NHS work.
To top it off, they're gonna fund more dental training places, so there'll be more dentists on the block. And they're planning some reforms to make better use of junior dental staff. It's all about having everyone working at the top of their game, you know? People with the highest degrees should focus on the things only they can do, while creating new roles for others to take on.
But hold your horses, mate! Eddie Crouch, the chairman of the BDA, reckons this ain't enough. He's been calling for long-term reform of dentistry, and he thinks the government is trying in vain to fix a leaky bucket. According to him, training more dentists who don't wanna work in the NHS is like chasing your tail.
Well, that's the story, folks. The government's got big plans to sort out the dental scene and make sure more people can get the care they need. Let's see if they can sink their teeth into these challenges and come up with some effective solutions, eh?
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