The Telegraph reports that patients are taking to pulling their own teeth as they are unable to find an NHS dentist. There have been massive increases in the NHS budget, often more than 7 per cent annually, in recent years. That there should still be such basic, and worsening, shortages in certain areas points to a colossal failure of management. The money has not translated effectively into improved services as bureaucracy has increased and productivity fallen.
We're still getting more, empty promises of improvement. As highlighted before on this blog, politicians are only talking about trying to address shortages in NHS dentistry now after it was promised that it would be made a priority a decade ago. If we're going to pay so much for the NHS we should expect a decent service.