New town dentist disputes NHS ‘no need’ claim

A dental practice in Nottinghamshire says it has been told it cannot offer NHS treatment because there is deemed to be “no need” for it in the area.

Toothbank aims to open in The Square, Beeston, later this month, offering private care but has been unable to obtain an NHS contract from the local integrated care board (ICB).

Practice director Traceyanne Smith said she was told at a meeting in March that it would not be given any contracts and since then, further attempts to contact officials had not had a response.

A spokesperson for the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB said dental services were commissioned based on data from the latest Oral Health Needs Assessment.

Toothbank has moved into a council-owned property, which had been vacant for several years.

Ms Smith said staff met NHS England in March and were denied a General Dental Services contract.

Without this, it cannot even bid for emergency cover and further applications “have not even been acknowledged”, she added.

The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB, which is part of NHS commissioning, is made up of NHS organisations and the city and local councils, and co-ordinates the delivery of resources to support local healthcare.

Ms Smith said: “It’s been massively frustrating. We are really wanting to serve the need in Beeston where there is a massive cry for NHS dentistry.

“We have realised this in the past few weeks, with people just popping in to see if we can offer them appointments via the NHS.

“I think it is really important for people to understand that it’s not us that makes that decision, it comes from NHS commissioning.

“Without their go-ahead, we can’t even see children on the NHS.”

Local and county councillor Teresa Cullen, who represents the Broxtowe Alliance party, said: “How can they say that there is no need for NHS places in Beeston? I hear from residents every day who are unable to get dental treatment close to home.

“I am fighting tooth and nail with the ICB, NHS England, and our MP – I want this resolved.”

Labour MP for Broxtowe Juliet Campbell said: “My constituents in Broxtowe, like many others across the country, are experiencing difficulties accessing NHS dentists after 14 years of failure by the Conservative government.

“I have already spoken to the ICB to raise the particular requests from Toothbank and that discussions on allocation of ‘units of dentist activity’ are in progress.”

In England in 2023-24, there were 34 million courses of dental treatment delivered, 4.3% more than 2022-23 but still fewer than before the Covid pandemic.

A search on the NHS website shows of 11 dentists within 2.2 miles of Beeston, seven are not accepting new NHS patients, three are taking new registrations and one is accepting children only.

In February, a parliamentary committee was told Dental Recovery Plan, launched a year before, to try to address a crisis in NHS dentistry in England, had been “unsuccessful”.

A spokesman for the British Dental Association added: “In real terms, NHS dental budget has been cut by over a third since 2010 – a real cut of £1bn.

“Official data estimates unmet need for NHS dentistry at over 13 million, or one in four of England’s adult population.

“Recent polling has suggested that among those who could not get an NHS dental appointment, more than a quarter [26%] resorted to DIY dentistry, while 19% went abroad for treatment.

“The government urgently needs to match its words on NHS dentistry with action to save the service.”

A spokesperson for the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB said: “Dental services in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are commissioned based on the latest Oral Health Needs Assessment, which looks at data like deprivation levels, access to NHS dentists, travel distances, oral cancer rates, and tooth decay.

“This ensures we target our resources to those areas where they’ll make the biggest difference.”

The ICB added “future NHS dental contract opportunities will be announced in line with national rules, so we can’t share details yet to keep the process fair”.