As Humza Yousaf became the sixth First Minister of Scotland, Scottish dentist leaders have called for immediate action to ensure the service, which they regard as beleaguered has a future.
The dentists say that the leadership election has delayed the timetable for reform of the low margin/high volume system dentists work to, which has left providers facing the risk of delivering NHS care at a financial loss.
In an open letter the British Dental Association has stressed that without immediate action the exodus from NHS dentistry will accelerate.
A recent survey of high street dentists across Scotland showed over half have reduced the amount of NHS work they do since lockdown, and four in five say they plan to reduce or further reduce their NHS commitment in the year ahead.
In the letter BDA’s Scottish leadership state: “In 2021 the SNP made a promise to the Scottish electorate: free NHS dentistry for all. The decisions you take in your first 100 days will effectively determine if that promise is going to be kept.”
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
