The £200 million rescue package to increase access to NHS dentistry in England this year is not on track, a spending watchdog has warned.
Plans published in February by the Conservative government aimed for an extra 1.5 million treatments to be completed by the end of 2024, with plans introduced for mobile dental vans to target areas with worse access.
Proposals have seen a roll-out of the new patient premium and an uplift to the minimum amount the Government pays dentists for treatments.
NHS England analysis to date shows fewer new patients have received treatment each month since the plan’s implementation, compared to the same period in the previous year.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has warned slow progress means end of year goals are “unlikely” to be met.
By September 2024, there had been an increase in the number of dental practices taking on new NHS patients, the NAO said, but this has still not led to an increase in treatments beyond what would have been expected without the extra payments.
NAO has acknowledged the general election is a possible factor for low access to treatment, but that the Government must reflect on long-standing issues in the NHS.
Challenges facing the NHS include a fall in the number of dentists providing NHS dental health care, with many moving to the private care sector instead, it noted.
The British Dental Association (BDA) has acknowledged the slow progress with the plan.
It explained not a single dental van has been procured to date and that there was a delay to the £20,000 “Golden hello” incentives (phased over three years) to recruit 240 dentists into specific areas of the country.
While 274 practices have had their application approved to recruit a ‘golden hello’ post, the first dentist was not appointed until October this year.
Chair of the BDA Shawn Charlwood said: “We warned at the outset that this Recovery Plan was unworthy of the title.”
“Unfunded, unambitious policies failed to make a dent in a crisis hitting millions.
“A new Government must show it is willing to learn from its predecessor’s mistakes.”
Louise Ansari, of the patient watchdog Healthwatch England, said she agreed NHS dentistry needed to be urgently reformed.
“Overall, the NAO paints a picture of delayed and confused efforts,” she said.
