Harriet Cross MP has warned the North East faces an exodus of dentists unless the Scottish Government addresses the staffing crisis after new figures show a 10% reduction in dentist numbers across the region over the last decade.
NHS Scotland Workforce statistics released today show 350 dentists were employed by NHS Grampian on March 31 this year – a drop of almost 10% since 2014.
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A total of 277 of those work in general dental service, 49 are employed in public dental service and the remaining 28 are hospital dentists.
The latest figure for this year means that NHS Grampian has just 56 dentists per 100,000 population which is among the lowest figure in Scotland, behind neighbouring NHS Tayside which has 63.
And only 22 dentists are currently working in the most deprived areas of the North East, compared to 116 in the least deprived locations.
In September 2014, NHS Grampian employed 381 dentists – 31 more than this year while in 2015, the figure was higher at 398 dentists – 48 more than this year.
The staffing crisis is already being felt in Ms Cross’ constituency of Gordon and Buchan after Oldmeldrum Dental Practice told patients last year that it intended to go fully private for adult patients in a bid to keep staff.
In May, David McColl, chairman of the Scottish Dental Practice Committee (SDPC) at the British Dental Association, said the recruitment of dentists into the NHS is “the worst it has ever been” with younger practitioners opting to go straight into private practice or head overseas.
Scottish Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan, Harriet Cross, said: “Suffering patients and staff are paying the price for the Scottish Government failing to invest in NHS dental services, resulting in the prospect of surgeries closing down.
“In my constituency, we are already seeing the impact of this on rural areas, leaving patients without treatment or forced to go private.
“Cutting off support for the profession has decimated dental services and led to an increase in health inequalities across the North East.
“These figures highlight that the industry is on a cliff-edge, with NHS dental emergencies being passed onto overwhelmed A&E staff who are already at breaking point.
“It is crucial that the SNP government supports good oral health, particularly for children, but there needs to be a modern, efficient and local health system for this to happen.”
