Sami Butt, a dentist based in Sussex, has made the “tough decision” to hand back his NHS contract. He said government funding measures mean it is “no longer feasible” to conduct business on the NHS.

According to BBC News, since 2020, 25 contracts across Sussex have been handed back.

Sami, a dentist at S3 Dental in Haywards Heath, had held an NHS contract for 20 years. Speaking to the news outlet, he said he made the “tough decision” because "the scheme was underfunded, and it was a terrible contract".

He added, "Over the years, dentists have tried to make it work, but unfortunately, post-pandemic, it's just no longer feasible.”

A report from The Nuffield Trust think tank in 2023 concluded that “dentistry is at its most perilous point in its 75-year history”. Wilf Williams, the lead author, said, “This report illustrates that continued neglect of dental policy is not a viable strategy. The result is a widening gulf between the government’s stated aim that everyone who needs one should be able to access an NHS dentist and the dire reality of elusive and increasingly unaffordable care.

“For the wider health system, the lessons are troubling: without political honesty and a clear strategy, the same long-term slide from aspiration to reality could happen in other areas of primary care too.”

Sami explained that the economy and cost of living crisis have “really hit home for many businesses.” As a result, “it's just simply not enough to be able to see patients on the NHS.”

Sami continued, "It was so sad because some of these patients have been with us since they were children. I've seen them grow up.

"It's just heartbreaking for a lot of us as clinicians."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said, "Last year 1.7m more adults and about 800,000 more children saw an NHS dentist compared with the previous year, but there is more to do, and the government is working on a dentistry plan with NHS England to make further improvements.

"We invest more than £3bn each year to deliver NHS dentistry, and we have already introduced reforms designed to incentivise practices to deliver more dental care."

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