Dentist believes NHS Dentistry may Disappear Soon

A dentist says he feels “strangled” by NHS contracts and believes NHS dentistry may not exist in two years.

Dr Harj Singhrao, who runs a practice in Newbridge, Caerphilly, said NHS funding was allocated on a “one size fits all” basis.

He said this meant high-need areas like his lost money while trying to provide good care.

His comments follow an open letter from the British Dental Association (BDA) Cymru. It accused the Welsh government of “peddling half-truths” and warned more practices were handing back NHS contracts.

The Welsh government said: “We are working to ensure the NHS dental contract is fairer for patients and the dental profession.”

Dentists who treat NHS patients sign a contract with the Welsh government.

It funds them per patient but sets targets, including the number of new patients seen. Those who miss targets may have to repay some of the funding.

The BDA says every NHS patient has the same monetary value, whether they need a check-up or hours of treatment.

Dr Singhrao, the principal dentist at Newbridge Dental Care, said he had to repay £50,000 to the Welsh government.

He said: “That happened because I took on too many new NHS patients.”

As a result, he had to close a position at his practice. He said treating every patient equally across Wales “does not work”.

Dr Singhrao said: “Some people disappear for years and return with serious problems. Others come all the time.

“The system isn’t set up for high-need areas.”

He added that complex treatments took longer but were paid the same as routine check-ups.

The dentist continued: “In the time it takes to do one complex treatment, I could do four child check-ups.”

He said most dentists wanted to treat NHS patients but could not afford to. He believed many would stop:

“We are giving access to patients and being punished for it.

“I can afford it, but many dentists can’t. It’s all or nothing. As a business, you can probably run for three years like this.”

However, Dr Singhrao said he had “hope” that NHS contracts could be renegotiated. He wanted penalties softened so dentists could provide good care.

He continued: “Ethically, there is no way I would give up treating children.”

He called for high-need areas to be prioritised in contract talks.

More than 10% of dentists have left the profession every year since 2010-11. Last year saw the second-highest number of departures since 2010.

The BDA Cymru’s letter to Health Secretary Jeremy Miles called for more funding and less admin for dentists.

It said: “NHS dental activity has stalled and may be about to fall off a cliff.”

A Welsh government spokesman said: “We have spent 13 months working with the British Dental Association to design the new contract.

“We will consult on proposals before finalising it.”

Plaid Cymru’s Llyr Gruffydd MS said: “If contracts don’t work for dentists, they don’t work for patients.”

He said North Wales had a particular problem.

“Only three out of 55 practices I contacted treat NHS patients. One has a three-year waiting list.”

He said that one constituent tried to remove a tooth themselves and developed sepsis, adding:

“These are the real-life consequences of not getting the service they need.”

Welsh Conservative shadow health secretary James Evans MS said NHS dentistry access was “very limited to non-existent” in many areas, especially rural communities.

He said: “The Welsh Labour government has failed to widen access and reduce waits.

“Perhaps if Labour wasn’t more focused on hiring more politicians instead of dentists, there would be funding to end this crisis.”