BDA slams Government over low morale
- Details
- Published: Friday, 09 December 2016 08:02
- Written by News Editor
- Hits: 3701
The British Dental Association (BDA) has reacted strongly to new figures showing a morale crisis which threatens the future of NHS dentistry. The BDA’s Chair of the General Dental Practice Committee, Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, said: “A wholly avoidable crisis of morale has left half of all NHS dentists looking for the exit, and puts the future of the service in jeopardy.”
Henrik continued:
"In every part of the UK we are seeing the same story. A collapse in earnings without parallel in the public sector, oppressive regulation, and contracts that fail both colleagues and patients are all taking their toll. Ministers can’t pretend this problem will just go away of its own accord. We are already seeing access problems in certain areas. The government cannot delay needed reform until we get to the point where queues start appearing outside NHS practices."
The British Dental Association (BDA) has reacted to new government figures showing that morale problems have left half of primary care dentists who treat NHS patients thinking about leaving general dentistry. The report Dental Working Hours – Motivation Analysis collected survey responses from more than 6,000 self-employed primary care dentists across the UK.
Key facts from survey
- Dentists in England & Wales are the most motivated across the UK, followed by those in Scotland and then Northern Ireland
- The more time dentists spend on NHS/Health Service work, the lower their levels of motivation.
- Half of all survey respondents said they often think about leaving dentistry.
- Apart from Principals in Scotland, reported morale levels have fallen for dentists since the 2014 survey.
The findings show that morale has fallen since 2012/13 across the UK nations. Taxable earnings for NHS dentists have fallen 35% in the last decade, while the costs of compliance have been estimated to have increased by over 1000%. The widely discredited target driven NHS contract introduced in 2006 in England and Wales is still in operation, with no clear dates for rollout of a replacement.
In addition, the BDA is currently engaged in a research project on burnout within the dental profession and dentists’ well-being at work.
You need to be logged in to leave comments.
Report