Golden Hellos for NHS Dentists gets Negative Press
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- Published: Monday, 16 September 2024 10:29
- Written by Peter Ingle
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Rishi Sunak‘s flagship dentist recruitment drive has been branded “toothless” after it failed to attract a single new dentist, seven months after its launch.
The former Prime Minister vowed to create “millions more NHS dental appointments” through the Dental Recruitment Incentive Scheme (DRIS). Subject to certain conditions this offered a £20,000 “golden hello” to new NHS dentists. It was designed to encourage relocation to areas with workforce challenges, to attract new workforce to the NHS, and to retain those who might have otherwise moved into private practice.
Announced by Andrea Leadsom in May 2024, the scheme was intended to support practices struggling to recruit, by offering a financial incentive. It was one strand of the Dental Recovery plan, with claims that it would add up to 240 dentists, working in under-provided areas for a minimum of three years.
At the time Mrs Leadsom said that the plan would make dentistry, “Faster, simpler and fairer.” Now the Mirror has revealed the number of extra dentists the DRIS has produced. In the words of their headline: “Zippo. Zilch. Zero. None at all.”
As we enter the second half of September, no payments have yet been made under the scheme. “The Conservatives talked a good game,” a Government source told the Mirror. “But seven months on and not a single dentist has been recruited to where they’re needed most. Their toothless pledge is another example of Tory overpromising and under delivering, which is why voters booted them out.”
The paper reports that the new government is urging dentists to take up the lucrative offer, and fill 240 vacancies in under-served areas.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told the paper: “NHS dentistry has been left in a sorry state, with patients too often unable to get the treatment they need. The golden hello payments were designed to get more dentists into areas where it’s most difficult to book an appointment. We urge any dentists considering their next move to take advantage of this offer and help us rebuild dentistry in the areas that need it most.”
The Mirror ran many stories about the collapse of NHS dentistry running up to the election and teamed up with the British Dental Association for the ‘Dentists for All campaign.’
There is just one problem with the Mirror’s latest dental story. According to the NHS England guidance about DRIS, practices wishing to apply for the scheme, do this via their ICB: “Dental practices in specific areas (determined locally) will be invited by their ICBs to express interest in participating in the scheme. Your ICB will inform you of the process and timescales for applications.
Practices will be notified of the outcome of their application via their ICB.” NHS England » Dental recruitment incentive scheme 2024/25
All of which points to ICB’s as those primarily responsible for rolling out DRIS, rather than the former incumbents of the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Government and personnel have changed. Despite this it would seem that the appeal of point scoring, over the hard work of seeing through real changes, remains irresistible.
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