Data from a Freedom of Information request submitted by Scottish Labour revealed an increase in the number of patients going private over a four-year period. The party said this is unlikely to represent the full scale of the trend as some numbers are unavailable for earlier years.
Paul Sweeney, Scottish Labour’s spokesperson for dentistry, said, “The fact that patients are suddenly paying quadruple the cost for dentistry in a cost-of-living crisis suggests Scots are handing over their life savings and pensions just to get the treatment they desperately need to relieve themselves of severe pain.
“This is what privatisation looks like – those who can, pay for a private dentist; those who can’t, suffer without access to an NHS dentist when they need it.”
Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board saw the biggest change, with at least 16,366 patients that have gone private since 2021. This includes 9,723 people that left in 2022 alone.
This was closely followed by Lanarkshire Health Board, which recorded a drop of 8,340 patients from the NHS register to enrol in private practices from 2019.
While NHS dental care fees are capped, the party pointed out that private dental health fees are not, so treatments could be more expensive.
Separate figures show that the number of patients leaving NHS dental practices has increased, even accounting for relocations and deaths.
Paul added, “A number of my constituents in Glasgow are suffering in agony without access to an NHS dentist and I know how desperate they are for relief from their dental pain – but they should not have to choose between paying for a private dentist or having no dentist at all.
“NHS dental care has rotted away under the SNP when we need to be encouraging more dentists to work for the NHS so that everyone is able to register as an NHS patient.
“Scottish Labour want to end the postcode lottery for access to NHS dentistry so that everyone can get the treatment they need when they need it.”