Millions miss out on NHS dentists – Hundreds queued to join a new NHS dentist in Scarborough this week
They show just 44% of adults and 60% of children were registered with a NHS dentist last year – following BBC news. (more…)
NHS trouble ahead
Massive spending cuts or painful tax increases are inevitable after the next general election, according to a report published today. Every family in Britain faces a £340-a-year tax raid after 2011 in order to pay for the pledge by both Labour and Tories to protect rises in Health Service spending. Tax increases would be needed to reduce a 16 per cent cut in spending on other frontline services, according to the analysis. Hikes and cuts: Whether the victor is Cameron or Brown, families will feel the pinch after the next general election (more…)
NHS sick joke
THE NHS boss in charge of the filthy hospital where up to 1,200 patients died in �appalling� care has a new job — as a top health WATCHDOG so the SUN.
Cynthia Bower will start on APRIL FOOLS’ DAY — in a move branded a �cruel joke� by relatives who lost loved ones.
Her appointment emerged as PM Gordon Brown yesterday apologised for the �inexcusable� failings at Stafford Hospital. (more…)
Stafford Hospital scandal: ‘We were right all along,’ say grieving families
A shocking report by the Healthcare Commission highlighted low staffing levels, inadequate nursing and a lack of equipment and leadership at the hospital. Patients were left lying in soiled beds and some were so dehydrated they had to drink out of flower vases. (more…)
NHS dentist crisis: Government insist there’s ‘no reason’ to pull out own teeth
The Government insisted today that there was no reason why anyone should have to resort to pulling out their own teeth. (mirror). A recent survey showed that a few people unable to find an NHS dentist were treating their own problems – including using pliers to pull out teeth.And two days ago the Mail told how 67-year-old grandmother Valerie Holsworth decided to try some DIY dentistry after feeling failed by the health service.But Government spokeswoman Baroness Royall of Blaisdon said media reports were sensationalist and there were very few such cases.She insisted The Government was not going to phase out NHS dentistry.She was replying at question time to Tory Earl Howe who expressed concern over the Dentistry Watch survey findings. (more…)
Two-thirds ‘go without a dentist’
Two-thirds of dental patients are going without treatment because they are unable to find an NHS dentist and cannot afford to go private, according to a damning report.
Citizens’ Advice said many face a postcode lottery over the availability of care, with ‘unacceptably long waiting lists and expensive journeys’ to reach a dentist.
More than 2 million are unable to get treatment on the Health Service, leading hundreds of thousands to seek private care – with some taking on crippling loans to pay for it. (more…)
A million more patients have lost their NHS dentist
The number of patients denied access to an NHS dentist soared by more than 1million after 500 abandoned the state sector last year. from the mail
The Government’s chief dental officer admitted yesterday that Labour’s botched introduction of a contract designed to increase the number of NHS dentists had had precisely the opposite effect.
Dr Barry Cockcroft revealed that 500 of the 21,500 dentists previously offering NHS treatment had refused to sign new contracts and were taking only private patients.
With the average patient list of around 2,500, that would mean
1.25million had lost their NHS dentist. (more…)
Dentist shortage ‘kick in the teeth’ for patients
he nationwide shortage of NHS dentists has been graphically illustrated, with the UK shown to be lagging well behind Europe and the US. Queues of hundreds of would-be patients outside new NHS surgeries and stories of people travelling abroad to see a dentist have all added to pressure on the Government to tackle the issue. The latest study, published in the International Journal of Health Geographics, uses a “traffic light” system to show those areas with the fewest dentists to serve their local population. (more…)
