Dentists fared worst of all in a new poll showing public satisfaction with the NHS has dropped to its lowest level in 25 years.
The Public Attitudes Poll by NatCen found that of those polled last autumn, only 36 per cent were satisfied with the level of service they had received from the health service overall, the worst outcome since 1997.
Notably, NHS dentists had the lowest satisfaction rating of all, at 33 per cent, the worst finding since 1983. This compared with 38 per cent for GPs and between 41 and 49 per cent for hospital services.
Those unhappy with NHS dentistry in the area may find going to a private dentist in Bishops Waltham offers a better alternative that meets their needs.
Of course, it could be argued that across the NHS there has been a drop in satisfaction due to the pandemic, which has led to so many resources being focused on Covid, measures having to be taken to reduce the risk of infection and high levels of staff absence with the virus that it has been impossible to provide the levels of service seen before the pandemic.
These factors may certainly be relevant to dentistry, with a British Dental Association (BDA) survey published in February, based on Freedom of Information data, revealing that 40 million NHS dental appointments had been lost since March 2020, the equivalent of a full year’s worth of treatment.
That indicates a major backlog, just as there are larger waiting lists for hospital operations, showing that the problem is an NHS-wide one.
Nonetheless, the BDA survey showed widespread dissatisfaction with the NHS dental system is not just something the public feels. It revealed that 34 per cent were planning to go fully private in the next year and only 48 per cent were certain they would go on providing NHS dental services from April this year.