BDA condemns PM’s failure to include dentistry in speech
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- Published: Wednesday, 20 May 2015 08:00
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The British Dental Association (BDA) has responded to David Cameron’s first landmark speech on health, saying that the failure to include dentistry in Health debate was hurting patients and taxpayers. PEC chairman, Mick Armstrong said: "Successive governments have failed to even consider 'oral health' as a part of the 'health' agenda. This government must not make the same mistake”.
The Prime Minister called for a ‘completely new approach to public health and preventable diseases’, and measures to stop patients being ‘bounced around’ the health system, but made no reference to oral health.
Cameron also said: “There is nothing that embodies the spirit of one nation coming together – nothing that working people depend on more – than the NHS. The founding values of the NHS are my values. The NHS will always be free for everyone under a Conservative government.” He claimed that some things in the NHS “are well on their way to being sorted.” These included “the queues for the dentist”.
With tooth decay the leading cause of hospital admissions among children the BDA has called for real joined-up thinking that can reap benefits for patients and the taxpayer. Mick Armstrong, Chair of the British Dental Association said: “Tooth decay remains the leading cause of hospital admissions among children, and government must recognise that comes with a human and very real financial cost.
“When it comes to other health professions, government is talking sense about lessening bureaucracy, doing away with meaningless targets and keeping patients out of hospital wherever possible. But until decision makers show their intention to make dentistry part of this debate we will still see children admitted to hospital for treatment that could be delivered by a dental practitioner, at less cost to the taxpayer and far less distress to the patient.
“Successive governments have failed to even consider 'oral health' as a part of the 'health' agenda. This government must not make the same mistake. The focus on prevention and public health is the right one, but dentistry cannot and must not be left out of that debate.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32772548
Speech was on Monday, included commitment to 24/7 NHS.
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