Lib Dems Criticise Dental Reforms As a Remarkable Failure

9.56.41pm GMT Thu 29th Nov 2007

In the two years to June, fewer people have been treated by NHS dentists

About 250,000 people have lost their NHS dentist since the reform of the system, new figures show. In the two years to June 2007, 27.89 million people were treated on the NHS compared with 28.15 million in the two years running up to the new dental contract which was introduced in March 2006.

Lib Dem Shadow Health Secretary Norman Lamb says "The reform of the dental contract has been a remarkable failure for this Government. It has achieved precisely the opposite of what was intended. People still cannot find an NHS dentist in much of the country and in many cases the new system doesn't provide enough money for dentists to treat NHS patients towards the end of the financial year. We urgently need an independent review of the impact of the new contract with recommendations on how to improve access to an NHS dentist."