DT News - UK - Public satisfaction with NHS dentistry at 20-year high

Dental Tribune International

Thu. 13 April 2017

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LONDON, UK: People’s satisfaction with dental care provided by the National Health Service (NHS) has risen further in recent years, as shown in the latest British Social Attitudes survey conducted by the National Centre for Social Research in London. According to the figures, less than one in five patients were discontent with the dentistry services last year..

The numbers reflect some of the highest levels of public satisfaction with these services since the early 1990s and are a dramatic improvement over figures in the early 2000s, which saw dissatisfaction rise to almost 38 per cent, the report said. More satisfaction was only observed for general practitioner services, which scored slightly better in the recent survey than dental services.

Overall, 63 per cent of those surveyed said they were satisfied with how the NHS is run today.

The British Dental Association hailed the results, saying that dentists should take real pride in what they have achieved despite government indifference, sustained underfunding and the barriers presented by the target-driven 2006 contract that still remains in place.

“It’s a miracle NHS dentists have been able to overcome all the hurdles placed in front of us to do right by our patients. It shows what might be possible if this ‘Cinderella Service’ received appropriate priority,” commented BDA Principal Executive Committee Chair Mick Armstrong. “This profession can take pride in the fact that public satisfaction in NHS dentistry has hit a near 20-year high in spite of chronic underfunding and discredited contracts.”

The British Social Attitudes survey has been conducted among members of the British public since 1983. The latest survey was carried out between July and October 2016 and asked a nationally representative sample of nearly 3,000 people about their satisfaction with the NHS overall, as well as nearly 1,000 people about their satisfaction with individual NHS services.

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