Patients who fear they will be left without NHS dental care are determined to save a surgery that's set to close within weeks. Private company Bupa is closing 85 branches across England and Wales, including Bupa Dental Care in St Pauls.
It is due to shut at the end of June, with Bupa saying it had struggled to recruit dentists nationally to provide NHS treatment. Nicola Strange who has been a patient at the St Pauls dentist for the last 20 years, has now set up a petition and contacted the Health Secretary and her local MP over the plans to close the branches across the country.
Nicola said: “We are relatively comfortable so it [going private] is not so scary, but I’m more concerned for all the other people and the children who should be having an NHS dentistry and it’s not going to be there. The dentist is absolutely fuming and understands what’s been happening over the years.
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“There used to be four dentists who would share the NHS work but they’ve all gradually left over the years and she’s the only one left trying to fulfil all the NHS work by herself. Bupa aren’t interested, they’re not making the money out of it.
“I don’t want to lose my dentist but the impact on less privileged people is going to be massive. When I was sat there waiting for my appointment a chap came in there with his wife who was in pain and he was told by the receptionist that she couldn’t be seen because she wasn’t on the list.”
Although her motivation to save the local service is not financial, she is worried that others will be left without access to treatment. After attending the practice last week for a check-up she said she felt compelled to act after a discussion with her dentist over the state of NHS dentistry.
Other locals who signed the petition expressed concern over their inability to afford private dentistry and urged Bupa to reconsider their plans to close. Nicola, who pays £20 for a check-up under the NHS, said that she had been offered a private dental plan by the healthcare company for £30 a month which would include two check ups a year for £180 each.
Last year 11 million people were unable to get an NHS dental appointment, according to a British Dental Association study. As more dentists reduce NHS commitments - or in the case of Bupa, close completely - that number is likely to increase.
Like other patients from Bupa in St Pauls, Nicola praised her dentist at the practice who has helped her to maintain healthy teeth over the years. “My teeth were in a right state when I started 20 years ago and now they are stable,” she added.
While there is no shortage of UK dentists accepting private patients, accessing dental care under the NHS has become increasingly difficult, particularly over the last few years - including in Bristol. A 2022 investigation found the South West to be the worst-hit region. According to the BBC's investigation, 95 per cent of dentists in the region were not taking on new NHS child patients and 98 per cent were not admitting new NHS adult patients.
Bupa Dental Centre St Pauls is one of 85 branches across the county that are set for closure. All the other Bupa dentists in Bristol are to remain open.
Bupa said it has planned these closures as a result of staffing shortages and inflation. The company says they are helping patients find an alternative practice and have handed contracts back to the NHS which will help commissioners to open up a contract for a new dental provider in the area.
Darren Jones, Labour MP for Bristol North West, raised the issue in the House of Commons last month. He said: “It is not necessarily because [dentists] are greedy, it is just because the national NHS contract does not allow them to see as many NHS patients as they might want to.That has left many families to rely on private services, which are often expensive.”
Due to the way in which NHS dentistry is paid, dentists can end up losing money by providing NHS treatment. This is because the government does not pay them a set fee for each individual treatment. This has resulted in an increasing number of dentists becoming completely private or reducing their NHS commitments.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are working to improve access to NHS dental care by investing more than £3 billion a year. We reformed the NHS dental contract to encourage more dentists to provide NHS treatments and allow dental therapists and hygienists to offer extra services.
"We also increased the amount practices receive for high-need patients. There were over 500 more dentists delivering NHS care in 2022 than in 2021, but we know there is more to do and we will be announcing further measures to improve access across the country soon.”
You can see the petition here.
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