The sixth Confidence Monitor survey by Practice Plan has found that 86 per cent of NHS dentists don’t see themselves in the NHS by 2023, compared to 70 per cent who answered the same question in last year’s survey.
Of those who intend to leave the NHS, 48 per cent said they were planning to move to private dentistry, 28 per cent are looking to retire and 24 per cent want to change profession entirely.
A deeper look into the results reveals some possible reasons for these figures. Once again, the survey showed that the majority of those working in the NHS are unhappy about seven aspects of their working life they were asked about.
For example, 91 per cent didn’t feel as if they had enough time to manage patient expectations, 94 per cent didn’t feel fairly remunerated for their work and 91 per cent didn’t feel able to carry out their work without feeling overly stressed.
This is in contrast to private dentists who were asked how happy they felt about the same aspects compared to when they worked in the NHS – 91 per cent felt happier they have enough time to manage patient expectations, 88 per cent felt fairly remunerated and 71 per cent felt able to carry out their work without being overly stressed.
Joe Hendron, an NHS dentist and owner of a former prototype practice, said, “These results are shocking but the UDA contract is bad for patients and bad for dentistry. The capped budget for dentistry restricts career progression and makes it more difficult for associates to become practice owners, as does the recent increase in control of practices by corporate businesses. This will challenge the retention of dentists in the profession.”
To see more of the results visit www.nhsdentistryinsights.co.uk