Cole-Hamilton: Scottish Government tinkering around edges of dentistry reform

Responding to comments by the British Dental Association that Scottish Government reforms to dentistry “fall short of root and branch change required to make the service fit for the 2020s,” with the Chair of the BDA's Scottish Dental Practice Committee indicating that “the fundamentals of a broken system remain unchanged,” Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:  

“The Scottish Government has abandoned NHS dentistry. Tinkering around the edges is a complete insult to dentists and patients.

“As research from my party has shown, there has been a colossal drop in the number of treatments and check-ups being carried out on the NHS. Over a million people registered with an NHS dentist haven’t seen them for over 5 years and hundreds of dentists have been lost. Under the SNP, toothcare is fast becoming a luxury, leaving Scots struggling in pain.  

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have set out plans which would deliver quality, accessible dental care in every community. To save NHS dentistry, we would reform funding structures, enable more NHS patients to be seen and rewrite the NHS Recovery Plan to include a comprehensive plan for dentists.”