Dental Schools Council chair quoted in Houses of Parliament discussion on Long Term Workforce Plan

The Dental Schools Council Chair, Professor Kirsty Hill, was recently quoted in discussion in the Houses of Parliament about the NHS England (NHSE) Long Term Workforce Plan. DSC is pleased that the discussion recognised UK dental schools’ support for expansion.

In July 2023, DSC outlined key objectives that will need to be met in order to achieve a successful expansion of the dental workforce. These considerations are summarised below.

Substantial long-term capital funding to upgrade existing equipment, teaching buildings and establish outreach centres.

This should include a dedicated building and maintenance fund to prioritise retrofitting or rebuilding the oldest dental schools and ensure clinic construction and upkeep.

Raising clinical placement tariff funding for dental hygiene and dental therapy (H&T) students.

We need to all look at the current funding for H&T students as it is becoming increasingly difficult to run the courses. We would like to see the tariff raised upwards to equal dentistry.

Increasing access to careers in oral healthcare

Dentistry, dental therapy, and dental hygiene are highly oversubscribed subjects, but we must ensure that we are continuing to improve ways to access the largest talent pool possible, recruiting students from all backgrounds who have the potential to become excellent oral healthcare professionals. Dental schools are increasingly engaged in outreach to students from underrepresented groups and are supportive of innovative approaches that could alleviate pressures in the NHS such as apprenticeship schemes and graduate entry programmes. Identifying ‘cold spot’ areas where there is low student recruitment and low oral healthcare provision could improve dental outcomes in underserved communities.

Improving staffing numbers including in clinical academia

Student expansion will create additional pressure on all dental school staff, and it is vital that dental schools can resource and promote these roles effectively. Innovative models to deliver teaching, service, and research with a different set-up of staff could be explored and dental schools are keen to collaborate in this area. Dental schools are working to promote and provide clinical academic pathways that are accessible, realistic, and desirable for graduates. They are also exploring new ways to support academics currently in training. Dental Nurse numbers will need to increase, perhaps through new apprenticeship programmes, to support clinical teaching. Clinical teachers, who supervise students’ patient interactions, will also have an important role and will require a recruitment drive. DSC recognises the importance of many other student support staff, including those supporting additional learning needs and other aspects of student health and wellbeing.

Method of allocating new places

In order to meet the recruitment deadlines set out by the Government, dental schools urgently need to understand how additional student numbers will be allocated and when. DSC supports an approach that is geographically responsive and evidence-based. Dental schools are supportive of targeted student and staff recruitment in ‘cold-spot’ areas. New outreach centres could help support this aim.

Supporting retention of current staff including the development of a new NHS contract

It is essential that dental schools can promote long-term careers in the NHS, to encourage students to enter NHS service on graduation and improve retention. Addressing burnout, adapting to new working patterns, improving working culture and better progression opportunities will be essential to safeguard the stability of the workforce.

The Dental Schools Council looks forward to working with the government alongside our stakeholders in the forthcoming planning that will be essential to ensuring successful expansion of oral healthcare education and service provision.

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1. The Dental Schools Council is the authoritative voice of the dental schools within universities across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its Chief Executive is Dr Katie Petty-Saphon. For further information about the work of the Dental Schools Council please see www.dentalschoolscouncil.ac.uk.
2. For more information on this statement, please contact Fahmida Yasmin at fahmida.yasmin@medschools.ac.uk