The NHS dental system is broken, according to a Hadfield dental practice which has announced that it will no longer be seeing patients under the NHS from 1 April.

In a letter to patients explaining the decision, Hadfield Dental Care said: “A chronic lack of interest in NHS dental care by successive governments has left the system broken. 

“We have recently lost dentists to the private sector and, despite spending many hours and huge sums of money advertising, we are unable to fill their positions."  

As a result, the practice states it can no longer fulfil the NHS contract and had tried to engage with NHS England East Midlands to try and arrive at an agreement but had no contact from them. 

The practice on Station Road will instead provide dental care on a private basis and is inviting patients to join a membership plan. As places are limited, they will be allocated on a first come first served basis. 

For a monthly cost, patients will receive two dental health examinations and two hygiene appointments per year. Any treatment needed will see members receive a discount. 

Concerns have been voiced about the impact on existing patients. 

Speaking on social media, one said: “There's no way we can afford it.” while another said: “It really scares me the thought of not having a dentist.” 

Others expressed fears over how far they will have to travel to access NHS dentists. “Not everyone has cars to be able to jump in to attend other areas NHS dentists.” 

High Peak’s MP Robert Largan has expressed his disappointment at this situation and says he has written to both NHS England and the Derbyshire Integrated Care Board, in particular, to try and safeguard NHS dentistry for children.  

He commented: “I am extremely disappointed by the announcement that Hadfield Dental Care Limited are going private. This is a result of serious structural failures within NHS dentistry, which I have been raising in Parliament for some time now. 

“A big part of the problem is that there are simply not enough NHS dentists. We need a serious drive to improve both the recruitment and the retention of dentists.  

“Thinking about the long-term, the Government are sensibly setting up new centres of dental development to train more dentists, focused on areas where there are shortages.  

“But in the short term, we need to look again at the recognition of overseas dental qualifications, to allow high-quality dentists from other countries to come to the UK and help increase capacity. 

“In terms of the immediate situation at Hadfield Dental Care Limited, I have already written to both NHS England and the Derbyshire Integrated Care Board, in particular, to try and safeguard NHS dentistry for children. 

“I will keep working with local dentists, the local NHS and making the case for urgent reform in Parliament.” 

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