NHS England admits failures as MPs zero in on true cost of outsourcing to Capita

Drawing from the BDA’s written evidence to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the catastrophic impact this had on dentists and patients alike, the committee’s chair, Meg Hillier, asked NHS England’s directors what they had to say to the patients who could not get their dental treatment while dentists were having to wait months for an NHS performer number to be processed.

In a further exchange during the oral evidence session on Capita’s failings, Meg Hillier asked NHS England’s national director for transformation and corporate operations, Emily Lawson, if, in hindsight, she would put a different balance on the £30 million a year that the NHS is saving from this contract, compared with the direct human impact on people who were living with toothache or worse while they waited for a dentist to be registered or for their paperwork to go through?

Ms Lawson conceded that dentists having to wait for months for their NHS performer number was unacceptable and it should not have happened. She acknowledged that there are still places where healthcare professionals, including dentists, are still waiting months, which she agreed isn't good enough.