The British Dental Association (BDA) has warned that a growing number of dentists in Northern Ireland are contemplating pulling out of providing NHS dental care due to continued Covid-19 restrictions, following a recent survey.
Survey results suggest that more than half of dentists in Northern Ireland (59%) may reduce their NHS commitments due to the continued restrictions, with more than a third (39%) considering leaving practice all together.
Although routine check-ups have been able to continue, aerosol generating procedures, such as fillings, which have been judged to be high infection risk; have required both settling times and additional cleaning to be carried out before treatment rooms can be re-used. The result of which has significantly reduced the number of patients that dentists are able to see. The BDA has advised that in some cases, the additional restrictions have led to reductions up to half the numbers pre-pandemic.
NHS dentists have been supported by the government during the pandemic, with many dentists seeing unregistered patients for emergency appointments and some opting to open at weekends in return for that support, whilst still accommodating infection control and prevention measures. With the NHS dentistry model relying on high patient treatment numbers to increase revenue, current pandemic restrictions mean that the current model of funding is no longer sustainable.
Dentist and practice owner, Ciara Gallagher, who is based in Downpatrick, County Down, said in a recent interview, “NHS dentistry is a high-volume service, so in a practice like ours, a surgeon would see between 20 and 25 patients a day.
“So, during Covid, because of these restrictions and the reduced numbers, we’re down to 10, 12 patients per day.
“We’ve done the numbers, and it’s 40% we’re managing at the moment.
“We’re working flat out every day, but 40% is the most you can do under the restrictions.
“So, the queue of people who haven’t received their dental care is getting longer and longer and longer.”
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Carrie Plummer - Editor & Content Manager
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