The British Dental Association has said there can be no complacency from the Scottish Government on the crisis in NHS dentistry, following yesterday’s debate in the Scottish Parliament, in which MSPs raised the heart-breaking case of a single mother going without food to pay for care, with others travelling hundreds of miles for access or embarking on ‘DIY’ dentistry.
The BDA’s own recent surveys found 83% of dentist respondents in Scotland had treated patients that had performed some form of DIY dentistry since lockdown.
Some reforms to the discredited small margin/high volume system NHS dentists work to were rolled out in November 2023. This system has been in crisis for a generation but proved undeliverable during the pandemic. Facing soaring costs, some practices were left delivering some NHS treatments at a financial loss.
The BDA had been seeking a decisive break from this system, and a move to a patient-centred, prevention-focused model of care. The Scottish Government refused to break with the overall framework.
The BDA stress that this must be the beginning, not the end of the road for reform, and that access, outcomes and inequalities need to be closely monitored.
David McColl, Chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee said:“MSPs and patients across Scotland have sent a clear message: the Scottish Government cannot pretend it’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ on NHS dentistry.
“Recent reforms may ease problems, but Ministers can’t afford to take their eyes off the crisis in this service.”
SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT ACCUSED OF ‘EXCRUITIATING NEGLECT’
The British Dental Association Scotland has welcomed the coming debate in the Scottish Parliament on the challenges facing NHS dentistry.
Scottish Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie MSP, who is leading Wednesday’s debate, accuses the SNP Government of “excruciating neglect”, revealing cases who have travelled to India for dental care and who have performed “DIY dentistry” with tools purchased from Amazon.
The BDA’s own recent surveys found 83% of dentist respondents in Scotland had treated patients that had performed some form of DIY dentistry since lockdown.
Some reforms to the discredited small margin/high volume system NHS dentists work to were rolled out in November 2023. This system has been in crisis for a generation but proved undeliverable during the pandemic. Facing soaring costs, some practices were left delivering some NHS treatments at a financial loss.
The BDA had been seeking a decisive break from this system, and a move to a patient-centred, prevention-focused model of care. The Scottish Government refused to break with the overall framework. The BDA stress that this must be the beginning, not the end of the road for reform, and that access, outcomes and inequalities need to be closely monitored.
Charlotte Waite, Director of British Dental Association Scotland said:“The crisis in this service has seen desperate patients take matters into their own hands, or head overseas for care that should be available in their own communities.
“The Scottish Government unveiled some reforms back in November. Time will tell if it’s enough to turn the tide, so those who want and need NHS care can secure it.”
The National Deaf Children’s Society has backed calls in the Scottish Parliament for more support for deaf children affected by the NHS Lothian audiology scandal.
A motion proposed by Jeremy Balfour, Conservative MSP for Lothians, on the current lack of support, has received cross party backing and will be debated in Parliament tomorrow (Thursday 8th June).
The debate follows a roundtable which Mr Balfour organised with families whose children were affected by the scandal earlier in the year.
The motion highlights that the failure of NHS Lothian to identify children’s deafness early will mean some children permanently miss out on opportunities to develop language and communication.
An independent report published in 2021, found that NHS Lothian was identifying children’s deafness when they were on average 4.5 years old, while the average age of identification as deaf in England was three months. The report was commissioned after the National Deaf Children’s Society raised concerns about the quality of children’s audiology at NHS Lothian.
Mark Ballard, Head of Policy for Scotland for the National Deaf Children’s Society, welcomed the debate saying: “It’s vital that NHS Lothian and local authorities work together to ensure every child affected by the failings of NHS Lothian’s paediatric audiology service get the support that they need to thrive.
“We must not fail these children twice – first by failing to identify their deafness and then by failing to give them the support they need, especially as their needs may be more complex due to late identification.”
The National Deaf Children’s Society is calling for a specialist resource provision to be set up within a school in Lothian and the Borders, similar to those in Glasgow, Falkirk and Dundee.
The charity wants NHS Lothian and local authorities to work together on an individual plan for support for every deaf child involved.
The National Deaf Children’s Society also calls for the recruitment of additional specialist staff to address the more complex language and communications needs of children whose deafness was missed in the early years, who may struggle to catch up with their hearing classmates.
Following Thursday’s debate in Scottish Parliament on the future of greyhound racing in Scotland, Owen Sharp, Chief Executive at Dogs Trust said:“We’re really pleased to hear the issue of greyhound racing being debated in the Scottish Parliament and would like to thank Mark Ruskell MSP for lodging the motion.
“Whilst the Scottish Government’s commitment to reviewing the activities of the greyhound industry as part of its upcoming consultation on extending the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations is a step forward, we firmly believe the industry must come to an end. We are concerned that licensing the industry would not be sufficient to protect racing greyhound welfare.
“Greyhound racing in Scotland has been significantly reduced since 2020, and with only one operational track, any phase-out period should be considerably shorter than elsewhere in the UK.
“Just last week, Dogs Trust called for an end to greyhound racing across the UK. While we have worked closely with the greyhound industry for many years to try to improve welfare conditions for the dogs, progress has not been made quickly enough, or on a big enough scale.
“It is simply not acceptable that in Great Britain over 2,000 greyhounds died or were put to sleep over the last four years, with close to 18,000 injuries recorded, all in the name of entertainment.”
On 27th September, three of the UK’s largest animal welfare organisations – Dogs Trust, Blue Cross and the RSPCA – called for greyhound racing to come to an end as soon as possible to put a stop to the unnecessary and completely preventable deaths of hundreds of dogs every year.
In Scotland, there are two greyhound racing tracks, one licensed by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) at Shawfield in Rutherglen and an independent “flapper” track at Thornton in Fife. Shawfield has been non-operational since March 2020, with racing at Thornton considerably reduced.
The charities have, as part of the Greyhound Forum, worked with the greyhound racing industry for many years to try to improve conditions for the dogs involved. While this has led to some improvements, there are still significant welfare issues for racing greyhounds which have not been resolved and cannot be resolved.
This announcement sees the organisations aligned with Scottish SPCA, One Kind, League Against Cruel Sports Scotland and Scotland Against Greyhound Exploitation who have all called for an end to greyhound racing in Scotland.
Greyhound racing is inherently dangerous for the dogs involved. Running at speed around oval tracks causes significant injury to many dogs, and in some cases the injuries are so severe that it is necessary to euthanise the dog.
The GBGB * is the self-regulating organisation that governs licensed greyhound racing in Great Britain. Data from GBGB show that over 2,000 greyhounds died or were put to sleep and nearly 18,000 injuries were recorded from greyhound racing between 2018 and 2021**, with additional dogs injured on independent tracks.
Comprehensive internal reviews conducted by Dogs Trust, the RSPCA and Blue Cross highlighted serious concerns at every stage of a racing greyhound’s life including issues around inadequate welfare standards in kennelling and transporting the dogs.
Some of the dogs used in racing are kept in poor, barren conditions, with little if any enrichment and fed a poor diet. The reviews also highlighted concerns around the general health of the dogs including the number and severity of injuries sustained during racing.
There are also serious issues around the racing of greyhounds in extreme weather and the number of puppies that are unaccounted for between birth and racing registrations, so often referred to by the sector as the “wastage”.
The reviews also found there to be disjointed and ineffective regulation within the sector, a lack of transparency regarding industry practices, and additional concerns around the enforcement of regulatory standards.
There’s also concern around the absence of a sustainable and consistent source of income for the industry which has grossly impacted any meaningful change for the dogs involved. However, even if the considerable finances needed to continue were made available, a complete overhaul of the sport is necessary to ensure it is compatible with good welfare.
Dogs Trust, the RSPCA and Blue Cross want to see an end to greyhound racing announced as soon as possible and expect the phase out across Great Britain to be feasible within five years to allow the racing industry and animal welfare organisations to carefully plan and coordinate the care of the many dogs affected.
In 2021 there were in excess of 18,000 licensed greyhounds eligible to race in GBGB races, with additional greyhounds racing on the independent tracks.
