NHS dental patients suffer further decay in service thanks to NI Executive

As the crisis in NHS dental care deepens, the Northern Ireland Executive’s response on the National Insurance issue sends an incredibly worrying signal at a time when there is a significant funding shortfall in support of NHS dental practices.

According to the British Dental Association Northern Ireland (BDA NI), patients are bearing the painful brunt of inadequate decision-making.

The BDA NI representatives have raised concerns about the Executive’s failure to adequately mitigate new costs imposed on dental practices resulting from the rise in National Insurance contributions (NIC) for employers.

The NIC and Minimum Wage changes, effective from April 2025, add significantly to staff costs. This will result in additional overheads and will inevitably lead to reduced access to patient care.

The BDA NI, in partnership with the representative bodies of the other Family Practitioner Services have collectively been urging the Executive to act to avert a collapse in primary care, including dental services.

However, the finance minister has instead confirmed that just £3.5 million is being allocated to address the cost impact of National Insurance contributions on dental practices, GP practices, community pharmacies, and other family practitioner providers.

This is a drop in the ocean and falls considerably short of the £36.5m annual cost, which is the figure accepted by the Department of Health for these services, and of which over £10m represents the impact on dental practices alone.

Furthermore, the Executive’s decision not to ringfence £146m of additional Barnett consequential funds coming from Westminster to mitigate National Insurance increases is hugely disappointing.

At a time when many dental practices are being forced to shift their business models away from Health Service dentistry because fees simply don’t cover overheads, the BDA NI have warned that this latest funding shortfall will swing the pendulum further away from the Health Service— affecting most acutely those patients who cannot afford private dental care, thereby widening inequalities.

The BDA NI have warned that this latest funding shortfall will have direct consequences, and that the Northern Ireland Executive should not wash its hands of its responsibilities to ensure the future sustainability of essential health services to our population, especially the most vulnerable.

For readers struggling to secure NHS dental care and who require urgent attention, there is a Dental Access Scheme.

For more details, please visit the Health and Social Care website at hscni.net.