My first OH was an NHS dentist @Nanny Beach. He said it was Margaret Thatcher who first prepared the ground for cutting down on NHS dentists. He thought dentists should be part of the NHS and he wrote to her about it. Of course, she didn't reply, just an acknowledgement from a civil servant.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I had wonderful service from NHS dentists until I moved down here. Then a lot of dentists turned to private only. I do not know if it depends on the dentists themselves or if, like my current dentist, they work for themselves or within a group practice. The group I am with has a management team who it is claimed, call the shots.
In some other countries, newly qualified doctors and dentists are required to spend a number of years working for state run practices, before they can go ‘private’. Given that the training costs are heavily subsidised, (the student fees are only a fraction of the cost) , that would seem to be a fair way to recoup the investment made in future healthcare. It doesn’t seem fair that a sizeable number of students benefit from the education they receive via the NHS, then at the first opportunity, head abroad or into purely private practices that only benefit a minority. Having said that, I can’t really blame those dentists who abandon the NHS, given the complicated and unsatisfactory method of remuneration. That seems to be designed to ration the availability of NHS dental treatment, while putting the blame on the dentists.
Given the pay levels and working hours and conditions I can entirely sympathise with any NHS staff, from consultants to porters, going abroad for better money and conditions. However, I do also think that there should be some obligation for medical staff to stay in the NHS a few years to repay at least some of the investment in their training.
Dentists and GPs are also in short supply in rural France which I find surprising given the quality of life here in the Vendée and oher similar areas. I don't care which government is to blame for starting the problem here or in the UK. Current governments need to get it sorted - woud take some imagination, some understanding and some money. Not a lot to ask.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
@Obelixx I think the biggest problem for Governments everywhere, post Covid, is the money. Billions upon billions of pounds, euros and every other currency were pumped into controlling Covid. That combined with the devastation to business and the consequent loss of tax income has left many coffers pretty dry.
That doesn't excuse the lack of investment by successive governments, but does make correcting that under investment a lot harder.
Posts
The current state of NHS dentistry is a national tragedy.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Thanks for that Brexit voters.
Having said that, I can’t really blame those dentists who abandon the NHS, given the complicated and unsatisfactory method of remuneration. That seems to be designed to ration the availability of NHS dental treatment, while putting the blame on the dentists.
Dentists and GPs are also in short supply in rural France which I find surprising given the quality of life here in the Vendée and oher similar areas. I don't care which government is to blame for starting the problem here or in the UK. Current governments need to get it sorted - woud take some imagination, some understanding and some money. Not a lot to ask.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
It’s actually what we pay our governments to do … not to cosy up to multi-billionaires in order to line their own pockets 😡
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.