Neil Carmichael details the work of the ADG to improve access and solve workforce problems in the dental profession.
The Association of Dental Groups (ADG) is committed to providing access to dentistry – wherever it is required. Tackling urgent care, supporting children as their teeth develop, meeting the needs of vulnerable people, propelling the prevention agenda and so much more all depend on increasing patient access. At all times the focus must be putting the patient first.
To help achieve this, the ADG is fighting for a workforce large enough and complete with all the necessary skills to deliver excellent oral healthcare across the UK. The dentists we have do a fabulous job.
How can we end dental deserts?
When the ADG is ‘out and about’, it is easy to observe evidence of commitment, high standards and professionalism at every level in dental teams but, sadly, not everywhere because of the persistence of ‘dental deserts’.
Dental deserts are where there is a chronic shortage of dentists, often in rural, coastal and economically deprived areas. These areas were identified and highlighted by the ADG. The tragic fact is where these characteristics prevail, only radical action can prevent a continuing downward spiral of quality-of-life expectations.
To eradicate dental deserts, we need more dentists, hygienists, therapists, dental nurses and support staff. The ADG is campaigning to increase the flow of international dentists to the UK, increase the output of domestic dental schools, and encourage teamwork within and between practices. It is not just a battle to overcome the unintended consequences of regulation but also to create and promote opportunities for eduction and training.
Overseas Registration Exam training
This is why the recent mission to Chennai, India, matters. The International Dental Organisation (IDO) organised a trip to the Chennai SRM University’s Dental School. The ADG was also represented. The aim is to help ensure students in India can be trained to meet the stringent requirements of the overseas registration examination (ORE) and educated in the culture, processes and expectations of NHS dentistry. This will also help enable the private sector to recruit dentists – there are shortages of dentists across the ‘mixed economy’ of dentistry.
Negotiations are underway between Chennai and the IDO. The ADG is also supporting other initiatives, including the establishment of structures to support international dentists already in the UK but unable to operate without passing the ORE which is bursting at seams without a much-needed increase in capacity. Another crucial requirement is to support international dentists as they arrive in an unfamiliar and sometimes demanding milieu.
Workforce shortages
The work of the ADG on the workforce front will not be complete until some 2,700 vacancies in NHS dentistry, over 500 vacancies in private dentistry and an as yet unvalidated number of community sector vacancies are filled.
The minister of state for care, Stephen Kinnock, recently acknowledged the workforce planning problem. Rightly, he thanked dentists for their ongoing and exceptional commitment to patient care and, for those working in the English NHS system, he signalled his intention to reform the contract. The minister also anticipated the introduction of provisional registration of international dentists and the publication of a revised workforce plan.
Both measures are necessary but not necessarily sufficient to deliver the government’s pledge for 700,000 additional urgent care appointments and tooth brushing schemes for children. The challenge is complex and huge so the response must be ambitious, coordinated sustainable. The ADG is ready to help.
For more information about the Association of Dental Groups, visit www.theadg.co.uk.
This article is sponsored by the Association of Dental Groups.
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