Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is planning a huge shake-up of NHS dental services for the coming year, pledging that everyone who lost their dentist to the private sector will have access to a one through the National Health. The government has since set aside £28 million for the scheme, to fund new appointments and home care for more than a million people across the UK.
In 2006, a Labour reform meant that many NHS surgeries chose to go private, in turn, this put pressure on A&E departments, as a lot of people had nowhere to turn for treatment. Mr Lansley spoke to the Daily Mail today and blamed the Labour governments failed policies for the deterioration in service. ‘Giving those people back their NHS dentist is a key priority of mine,’ he said, ‘I am delighted that we have been able to find more money for dentistry because of our successful programme of efficiency savings in the NHS.’
It was recently revealed that children, in particular, where suffering with poor oral health, so the Coalition has tentatively launched several new dental contracts, which focuses on paying the dentist for how many patients they care for, rather than which treatments they perform. Mr Lansley was confident that the changes would yield a positive outcome, saying ‘This is a great example of how the money we are saving by working more efficiently, cutting bureaucracy and rooting out waste in the NHS is being reinvested in frontline services for patients.’