According to research by the British Dental Association and the BBC, 91% of NHS practices across England were not accepting young adult patients, with this rising to 97% in the East Midlands and 98% in the South West, North West. west and Yorkshire and the Humber. Across Northern Ireland, 90% of NHS practices were not accepting young adult patients, while the figure was 82% in Scotland and 93% in Wales. The survey also found that of practices not accepting young adults in England, only 23% had an open waiting list and 16% said the waiting time was at least a year or were unable to give an estimate of how long it would be a long time. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Louise Ansari, the national director of Healthwatch England, said the survey results showed the state of dentistry in the UK was “terrible” and that she had heard of people pulling their teeth . . Ansari said: “I think the research really confirms and reinforces what we’ve been saying for two years and the situation is quite tragic. “So many people can’t get an appointment with the NHS dentist, they’re in pain, they’re anxious, some people can’t eat or talk properly. He added: “And suddenly, indeed, it’s not uncommon for us to hear stories of DIY dentistry, things like making teeth out of resin and superglueing them to their gums, which is an absolutely hopeless situation for someone. “ The health secretary said a “real sprint” would be needed before winter to ensure the NHS was able to cope with pressures from seasonal flu, coronavirus and the cost of living crisis. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Speaking to the Telegraph, Steve Barclay said: “We have very real challenges coming down the track in the autumn and winter, and as far as I’m concerned there needs to be a real sprint in Whitehall, and particularly in the Department of Health. , to get ready for September. He added that there was an “urgent need” to prepare the health care system and that decisions needed to be made now, rather than waiting until the autumn when it would be too late. “Part of my role is to prepare for logical worst-case scenarios. Obviously these pressures can take many forms. You might have a bad flu, you might have higher Covid rates than we would expect or want,” Barclay added. Commenting on survey results showing that NHS dental practices are unable to accept new patients, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Improving patient access to NHS dental care is a government priority and the new dental reforms contract announced last month is an important step, allowing the best performing practices to see more patients, making better use of the range of professionals working in the field, such as dentists, hygienists and nurses, while rewarding dentists more fairly for providing more complex care.”
