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Lancashire’s wealthiest areas less likely to see a dentist than poorest

Posted on - 8th September, 2024 - 7:00am | Author - | Posted in - Chorley News, Fylde News, Health, Preston News, Ribble Valley News, South Ribble News, Wyre News
Only 36.5% of people in Preston have seen a dentist over a 12 month period

More people have recently seen an NHS dentist in some of the poorest parts of Lancashire than in the county’s most affluent areas.

New figures reveal that almost two in three adults living in Blackburn with Darwen have had an NHS dental appointment in the past two years – the maximum recommended interval between check-ups – compared to just one in five in Ribble Valley.

While Blackburn is ranked as the ninth most deprived area of England, Ribble Valley is in the top 40 best-off out of a total of 317 local authorities.

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The two areas also find themselves at the opposite ends of the league table for the proportion of children who have been to an NHS dentist in the last 12 months, which is the longest under-18s should go between appointments.

In Blackburn, more than three in four children have had a dental examination on the NHS over the last year, while in Ribble Valley it is just under four in ten.

Similarly, South Ribble – the second-least deprived part of Lancashire, according to the English index of multiple deprivation – has the second lowest proportion of recent adult NHS dental appointments, at just 33 percent. In contrast, Pendle – the 33rd most deprived part of the whole country, achieved a rate of 51 percent.

The analysis, by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), could suggest that patients in more affluent areas have turned to private practice in the face of struggling to find an NHS dentist. However, the statistics – which use the period April 2023 until March 2024 as their baseline – do not show a uniform pattern across Lancashire.

Not all of the county’s more deprived areas have a high proportion of recent NHS dental treatment for adults. In Blackpool – the poorest part of England according to the deprivation index – only 34 percent of people have seen an NHS dentist in the past two years. That puts the resort – along with Lancaster (34.2 percent), Hyndburn (36.2 percent) Preston (36.5 percent) and Burnley 40.3 percent) – below the rate for Lancashire and South Cumbria as whole, which stands at 41.7 percent.

Meanwhile, for children seen in the last year, Blackpool (45.3 percent), Preston (52.3 percent), Wyre (53.1 percent), Burnley (53.2 percent), South Ribble (56.3 percent), Lancaster (58.7 percent) and Rossendale (59.1 percent) are all below the Lancashire and South Cumbria rate of 60 percent.

The region is above the English averages on both the adult and children’s measures – coming 17th out of 42 integrated care board (ICB) areas for adults and ninth for under-18s.

It has also seen a high take-up rate of a nationwide initiative to help those who have gone without NHS dental treatment for at least two years to find a dentist willing to see them.

Amy Lepiorz, associate director of primary care for the Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, said: “Eighty-eight percent of practices in the ICB have signed up to a national scheme that incentivises dentists to take on patients that have not received NHS care for more than two years. This means they will take on new patients as capacity allows, and patients can find their nearest participating practice on the nhs.uk website.

“Anyone who is struggling to find a dentist and needs urgent support can call the Lancashire and South Cumbria dental helpline on 0300 1234010. This service is available from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 5pm weekends and bank holidays.”

Caring capacity

A report presented to a meeting of the ICB last November revealed that the backlog caused by a reduction in dental capacity during the earlier part of the pandemic – between March 2020 and June 2022 – is not expected to be cleared until the summer of 2026.

The document also described how dentists have noticed how bad habits developed during periods of lockdown are now having an impact on the teeth of some residents.

“[People] developed behaviours that are having a detrimental effect on their oral health. [They] are now requiring more appointments to meet their clinical needs, with dental providers reporting that their appointment books are full, but with [fewer] people being able to access routine care.

“The NHS nationally receives funding based on around 60 percent of the population being able to access NHS dental services. The decline in oral health since the pandemic means the level of funding received is currently only sufficient for around 50 percent of the population to be able to access routine NHS dental care”, the report explained.

It also noted “growing dissatisfaction with the current NHS contract” for dentists.

“The current model sees providers paid different amounts for the same level of activity and it is not uncommon for providers to operate at a loss when treating people with more complex needs. The contract is focused on the treatment of disease rather than the promotion of preventative measures.”

In November last year, the region’s ICB launched its dental access and oral health improvement programme

Of that scheme, Amy Lepiorz said it was improving oral health, as well as “access to primary care dental services in the high street”

She added: “This includes routine care as well as urgent dental treatment for those in immediate need of support, prioritising the parts of Lancashire and South Cumbria with the greatest need for dental access and oral health support.”

What is the government doing?

The previous Conservative administration launched the second stage of its NHS dental recovery plan in February. As well as the incentive for dentists to see patients who had not had a check-up or treatment for two years, it included the introduction of mobile dental vans to take dentists and surgeries to “isolated, under-served communities.”

There was also a pledge to “focus on prevention and good oral health in young children”.

Meanwhile, In its election manifesto, Labour promised an extra 700,000 urgent and emergency dental appointments a year and to “flood dental deserts with new dentistry graduates”, offering “golden hellos of £20,000 for those who spend at least three years working in under-served areas”.

Lancashire NHS dental league

Proportion of adults seen by an NHS dentist in the past 24 months (based on 2023/24 starting point):

Blackburn with Darwen – 64.3 percent

Pendle – 50.9 percent

Rossendale – 49.8 percent

Fylde – 46.3 percent

Wyre – 46.0 percent

West Lancashire – 44.1 percent

Chorley – 43.2 percent

Burnley – 40.3 percent

Preston – 36.5 percent

Hyndburn – 36.2 percent

Lancaster – 34.2 percent

Blackpool – 34.0 percent

South Ribble – 33.0 percent

Ribble Valley 20.0 percent

Lancashire and South Cumbria rate – 41.7 percent

Proportion of children seen by an NHS dentist in the past 12 months (based on 2023/24 starting point):

Blackburn with Darwen – 76.3 percent

Chorley – 68.7 percent

Hyndburn – 67.8 percent

West Lancashire – 67.6 percent

Pendle – 64.8 percent

Fylde – 63.1 percent

Rossendale – 59.1 percent

Lancaster – 58.7 percent

South Ribble – 56.3 percent

Burnley – 53.2 percent

Wyre – 53.1 percent

Preston – 52.3 percent

Blackpool – 45.3 percent

Ribble Valley 38.4 percent

Lancashire and South Cumbria rate – 60.0 percent

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