Government Confirms 700,000 Extra Urgent Appointments From April
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- Published: Friday, 21 February 2025 17:00
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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Following the news that the NHS saw 2.2 million more patients between July and November 2024 than it managed over the same period in 2023, Health Minister Stephen Kinnock is hoping that the announcement will enable the government to fulfil another of its election pledges.
A Department of Health & Social Care statement issued on 21st February, confirmed that ’NHS England has today written to integrated care boards (ICBs) across the country, directing health chiefs in each region to stand up thousands of urgent appointments over the next year.’
The plans mark the ’first step’ towards rebuilding NHS dentistry, with the government also set to deliver supervised tooth brushing in schools to improve children’s oral health.
New Patient Premium ’Scrapped’
The New Patient premium (NPP) introduced by the last government is scrapped. The initiative, which boosted the UDA rate payable for seeing new patients, cost £88 million and was deemed to have had ’no impact for patients’.
Data published last week showed the number of new patients accessing NHS dentists had actually fallen by 3% since the scheme was introduced.
The previous government’s ’Golden Hello’ payments of £20,000 over three years designed to entice dentists to work in under-served areas look likely to have been given a reprieve. Whilst at the time of the election in July 2024 the scheme had yet to secure the services of one dental surgeon that figure has now reached 68. Like its predecessor, the government is hoping it will help attract 240 dentists to work in areas deemed to be ’dental deserts’.
Dental Deserts Targeted
The 700,000 extra appointments were promised in Labour’s manifesto and there has been growing frustration surrounding the time it has taken for them to be launched, with the dental access crisis continuing to feature prominently in parliamentary questions.
Of the 700,000, the majority have been distributed to dental deserts - areas where patients particularly struggle to access NHS dentists. This includes parts of the east of England, such as Norfolk and Waveney, where there are just 31 NHS dentists respectively for every 100,000 people - way below the national average.
Each ICB has a target of urgent appointments to roll out, based on estimated local levels of unmet need for urgent NHS care. Levels of unmet need are calculated by measures including looking at how many people tried and failed to get an NHS dentist appointment.
The number of additional urgent care appointments differs widely. Befordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes will see an extra 6,041 whilst Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are poised to be awarded 14,195. Norfolk and Waveney have a target of 21,520 whilst neighbouring Suffolk and North East Essex is to benefit by 15,413.
North East and North Cumbria will receive 57,559, Devon 24,269 and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight 30,032.
The department statement clarifies that ’These extra appointments will be for patients who are likely to be in pain - including those suffering from infections or needing urgent repairs to a bridge - and require urgent treatment.
NHS commissioners will be working fast to secure these extra appointments this year, with appointments to start coming online from April. Patients will be able to access these appointments by contacting their usual dental practice or calling NHS 111 if they do not have a regular dentist or need help out of hours.’
Responding to the announcement, the British Dental Association said the extra appointments would translate into every NHS dentist in England seeing little over two extra urgent cases a month.
“It’s progress, but the Government could have fired the starting gun on commissioning urgent care last summer,” said General Dental Practice Committee Chair Shiv Pabary.
Recycled Budget
The BDA also voiced concerns about the delivery model. ’We’ve expressed concern that Integrated Care Boards have been offered no national framework for delivering these 700,000 appointments. Last summer we proposed a tried-and-tested model of sessional payments, that has already significantly improved access to urgent care in the North East’ a statement said.
The BDA added ’ Despite having pledged new investment in the Labour manifesto, delivery here is to be paid for using underspends in the dental budget, that we know are fuelled by underfunding and workforce problems.’
Shiv Parbary added that the pivotal issue remained the contract, with one in four adults still unable to access an NHS dentist. "Ministers must now confront the failed contract that’s left millions with no option Promised new money has gone. Instead, budgets that should be funding routine care are being recycled" said Mr Parbary.
Jason Wong, Chief Dental Officer for England, said "It is vital that we do more to improve access - we are working with local systems to prioritise this, which includes providing 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments to help make it quicker and easier for those most in need to be seen and treated on the NHS and we are incentivising dentists to work in underserved areas so that all areas of the country can receive the care they need".
Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State for Care, said "We promised we would end the misery faced by hundreds of thousands of people unable to get urgent dental care. Today we’re starting to deliver on that commitment.
NHS dentistry has been left broken after years of neglect, with patients left in pain without appointments, or queueing around the block just to be seen.
Through our Plan for Change, this government will rebuild dentistry - focusing on prevention, retention of NHS dentists and reforming the NHS contract to make NHS work more appealing to dentists and increase capacity for more patients. This will take time, but today marks an important step towards getting NHS dentistry back on its feet."
The following document contains a table of how many urgent appointments are being commissioned in each area
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dental-patients-to-benefit-from-700000-extra-urgent-appointments
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