Bupa Dental Care is poised to close, sell or merge 85 practices across the UK, including its Ryde practice here on the Isle of Wight.
It has been announced that the healthcare provider is set to drastically reduce its dental services in 2023.
The company currently has 2 practices on the Island – in Shanklin and in Ryde – with the latter now under review.
Bupa says that it faces systemic challenges within the industry and was unable to recruit enough dentists. Recent reports of ‘dental deserts’ created in the wake of thousands of dentists quitting the NHS since the COVID pandemic have led to an increase in Brits performing dental procedures on themselves.
Locally, Island Echo has extensively covered the Island’s dental crisis but, as the following tweet from the British Dental Association following Bupa’s announcement shows, this is most certainly a nationwide issue.
It's a mass closure, but it's only the tip of the iceberg.
NHS dentistry is a service built on sand.
Years of failed contracts and underfunding have taken their toll and more will inevitably follow.
Article continues below this advertisement Both govt and opposition need to wake up.
👉https://t.co/SF6JPPea36 pic.twitter.com/zlfNnh6W4f
— BDA (@TheBDA) March 29, 2023
Mark Allan, the director of Bupa Dental Care, has this week said:
“As a leading dental provider in the UK, our priority must be to enable patients to receive the care they need. For the majority of affected practices, this decision will allow commissioners to procure local providers for the NHS contract, tailoring services and investment to the needs of the local community, thereby providing a better opportunity for patients to continue access to NHS dental services.
“We fully understand the impact today’s decision has on our patients and our people within these practices. This decision has not been taken lightly and closure is a last resort. Despite our continued efforts, the dental industry is facing a number of significant and systemic challenges that are placing additional pressure on providing patient care, in particular recruiting dentists to deliver NHS dental care.”
The “sand” is years of underfunding of UK dentistry training, forcing a reliance of foreign, mostly Eastern European dentists, a large number of whom have left due to Brexit.
We are now in a situation where we have too few dentists, too few in training and recruiting from the EU is much harder.
True. Polish private dentistry is of superb quality. I always recommend my friends a short city trip to Cracow or Warsaw: few cheap pints and a dentistry job comes out relatively cheap for the quality you get.
I got letter from Bupa dentists in Shanklin to say we are being booted off their dental care plan a few months ago. Apparently they only want fully insured punters, or private payers. Monthly payment plans don’t generate them enough income obviously. Conservative Britain, enjoy your toothache, we’re alright Jack.
I was an nhs dental patient at shanklin and was told my dentist had chosen not to renew her nhs contract ( like so many other dentists ) so that was that had to register as private patient elsewhere.
Shame that when I was with bupa they didn’t do a good job on my crowns they are horrendous. So is the manager at Arthur’s hill. Permanent damage done to my gums. Then to top it all off refused to complete the treatment due to dentists leaving the practice.
Recruitment on the Island is problematic for private dentistry work, so recruitment for NHS contracts has no chance.
And yet they’re determined to build thousands more houses.
I was told last autumn that I could not have my nhs treatment like so many others. I had not long had nhs checkups and both of the last ones I was told I needed no work and to make a years check instead of six months. I did not sit on that letter I said I wanted to have the chance to see my dentist privately rather than lose my place and was promised to be returned to the nhs list as soon as things improved and then they got me in very quickly. The irony was I came out from my check up with work needed totalling over one thousand pounds……….how is that right. Just had three filling one X-ray….385 quid. And thats
I am registered with Bupa Ryde. I was due my check up in July 2022. This was cancelled a month before and is still yet to be rebooked nearly 9 months later. I call them every couple of months but to the same response.
I guess the government won’t be happy until they have privatised NHS services