Reports of Ukrainian refugees returning to Ukraine for dental treatment as they’re unable to find treatment in the UK
People turning to DIY dentistry, pulling out their own teeth or creating home-made fillings and dentures
Tooth decay is the leading cause of hospital admissions for 6-10 year olds
In 2021-22, 83,000 people attended A&E for dental problems
Around 12 million adults in England haven’t seen an NHS dentist in the last two years
“They [people in England] are becoming so desperate that they are taking matters into their own hands. You’re then seeing the spillover into general medical practice, because people can’t get access to dental practice. And so doctors are becoming overwhelmed, A&E is becoming overwhelmed with dental problems. I think broadly the word ‘crisis’ is overused but we have been in a crisis situation for many years.” – Shawn Charlwood, chairman of the general dental practice committee at the British Dental Association
A 2022 BBC investigation found that 9/10 NHS dental practices across the UK aren’t accepting new patients for treatments. This is creating a huge oral health disparity between those who can afford to seek private dental treatment as an alternative, and those who can’t. Private dental care can be very expensive, and for many people in England, this simply is not a viable alternative.
NHS dentists will be given a ‘new patient’ payment of £15-£50 to treat patients who haven’t seen an NHS dentist in 2 or more years
Around 240 dentists (about 1% of the workforce) will be offered one-off payments of up to £20,000 for working in under-served areas for 3 years
‘Dental vans’ to be used to help reach the most isolated communities
NHS work made more attractive to dentists, with the minimum value of activity being raised from £23 to £28
Water fluoridation programme to be consulted on to attempt to reduce the number of tooth extractions from decay in the most deprived areas, starting in the North East
‘Smile for Life’ programme will offer advice to parents for baby gums and milk teeth and aims for children to see tooth brushing as a normal part of their daily routine
“Backed by £200 million, this new recovery plan will deliver millions more NHS dental appointments and provide easier and faster access to care for people right across the country” – Rishi Sunak
Criticism
The plan has been criticised by Labour’s shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, for being a “temporary measure.” Streeting has also drawn attention to the £400 million underspend in the NHS dentistry budget last year. Given that the new proposal is only backed by £200 million of funding, there are concerns that it may not be enough to drive the reform we so desperately need.
There was also strong criticism from the British Dental Association…
“Our recent surveys show over 8 in 10 dentists have treated patients who’ve undertaken some form of ‘DIY’ dental work since lockdown. It’s a national disgrace.
Ministers need to take some responsibility. A wealthy 21st Century nation is slipping back to the Victorian era on their watch.
The Government keeps saying it wants everyone to be able to access NHS dentistry. But there’s no sign of a credible plan to make that a reality, and no willingness to break from the failed contract” – British Dental Association
“This ‘Recovery Plan’ is not worthy of the title. It won’t halt the exodus from the workforce or offer hope to millions struggling to access care” –Shawn Charlwood
by Red Star Wealth
In Britain, we pride ourselves on our National Health Service, but is it in danger of collapse?
YouGov Survey
YouGov recently released a survey regarding the British public’s opinions on the state of the NHS.
Only 12% of those surveyed said they thought the NHS was being handled ‘well’, with 82% saying it is handled ‘badly’
69% believe the national state of NHS services is bad
28% consider the NHS worse than European healthcare systems, in comparison to 20% thinking it is better
56% believe the state of the NHS will worsen over the next few years, compared to 14% who think it will get better, and 22% who think it will remain in a similar state
39% of those surveyed believe Labour would handle the NHS best, with 11% of respondents saying the Conservatives would
From these findings, it is clear that the majority of Brits are more likely to view the NHS as being in a negative situation than a positive one.
YouGov’s findings also indicate that the NHS has become a political issue, wherein many voters are considering the impact of their vote on our health service.
Why is the NHS in Danger?
“the N.H.S., a proud symbol of Britain’s welfare state, is in the deepest crisis of its history: flooded by aging, enfeebled patients; starved of investment in equipment and facilities; and understaffed by doctors and nurses, many of whom are so burned out that they are either joining strikes or leaving for jobs abroad”–Andrew Testa, The New York Times
As summed up by Testa, the NHS is facing a bombardment of issues. One of these issues is staff shortages, due to many NHS workers leaving their professions. We only have to look at the amount of strikes over the past few years to see just how unhappy many NHS staff are. There is a huge issue wherein many feel undervalued, underpaid, and massively overworked, so it’s no wonder we are experiencing these staff vacancies.
Another issue the NHS is facing is our ever-ageing population. Most people develop more health issues as they get older, which leads to an enormous demand for NHS services. If we then combine our ageing population with the already long waiting lists that developed during the pandemic, it is clear to see how demand is outstripping supply. Simply, we do not have enough doctors, nurses, and facilities to treat all of our patients.
Additionally, due to the NHS being free at the point of use, some people use NHS services unnecessarily, going to the GP for things like common colds which are easily treated at home.
Over the years, there has also been a rising demand for mental health services. In 2000, it was estimated that 17.5% of adults aged 16-64 had common mental health disorders (such as anxiety and depression). This number rose to 18.9% in 2014. Alongside this trend, more people with mental health disorders are now seeking NHS treatment for them. The percentage of adults aged 16-74 with a common mental disorder who were accessing mental health treatment was 23.1% in 2000, rising to 39.4% in 2014. The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey is due in 2023/4 so we will have a more established idea of how this trend has continued since 2014 when that is released.
Overall, the NHS is facing enormous demand that it simply cannot meet. Waiting times are through the roof and more and more NHS professionals are changing careers by the day. If we want to keep our health service, changes must be made. Just what those changes are, I guess we will have to wait and see…
by Red Star Wealth
Sunak’s recent decision to ’empower’ patients by giving them the option to travel further or go private to receive treatment highlights the continued struggles of the NHS to cut down on waiting times.
Sunak’s Decision
Rishi Sunak recently announced that GPs will now be required to offer patients up to 5 healthcare providers where clinically appropriate. They will have to give patients the option to travel further for treatment or to go to a private alternative (bypassing the NHS).
The aim of this measure is to tackle the continued NHS backlog in an attempt to reduce waiting times for treatment.
“While we agree that patients should be at the centre of decision making about their care, doctors working in both primary and secondary care are acutely aware that our patients just want to be seen in good time and close to home. It is long waiting lists, due to the long-term undervaluing of NHS staff and poor workforce planning, that are preventing this from happening, not a lack of patient choice”
“There are no shortcuts here- in order to make real progress, the Government must focus its efforts on addressing the workplace crisis across the NHS, investing in the health and appropriately valuing staff. That is the only way to tackle the record-breaking backlog and help patients who are desperate to be treated swiftly and close to home”
This is a particularly prominent set of points when we consider figures that show the NHS to be strained, and its staff to be overworked. The number of patients per fully qualified GP has grown in 66% of practices since 2015; this means that each GP is having to deal with more and more patients every year.
Further to this, the BMA recommends that GPs see no more than 25 patients a day. Despite this, over the whole of March, the local GP practices for 62% of people living in England’s most deprived neighbourhoods saw over 25 patients a day on average.
The Turn to Private Healthcare
Sunak’s recent decision highlights NHS’s struggle as he is essentially trying to get GPs to get more patients to use alternatives to the NHS (through private options), to reduce the load it is taking on.
Therefore, it comes as little surprise that Aviva reported a 25% increase in the number of new health insurance policies taken out with them in the first 3 months of this year. Private healthcare is becoming increasingly enticing as the NHS continues to be understaffed, underfunded, continually backlogged, and plagued with strikes from its stressed-out workers.
by Red Star Wealth
Around 21% of England’s adult population regularly drinks at levels which increases their risk of ill health, but did you know that this can affect your ability to take out insurance?
Why Do Underwriters Ask About Alcohol?
When taking out insurance, applicants will go through a risk assessment process to help determine their eligibility to take out a policy, and the cost of their premium if they are accepted. This process is referred to as underwriting.
Many conditions can be worsened by a high alcohol intake, meaning that underwriters need to know how much alcohol an applicant drinks; they need to account for its possible effects on their life expectancy, level of health, or level of disability.
Insurance is always based on risk as the more risky you are seen to be, the more likely the insurer is to have to pay out. If anything indicates an increase in risk to your health, it will be factored into your ability to take out insurance. This includes:
Whether you’re a smoker
Your alcohol consumption
Your weight
Any mental health conditions
Certain medical conditions
Research conducted by the UK government shows that alcohol misuse is actually the biggest killer of working age adults in England, meaning it’s overtaken 10 of the most dangerous forms of cancer. Given this, it is no surprise that underwriters consider alcohol misuse a significant risk factor in insurance applications.
Alcohol Screening Tests
When assessing applicants’ alcohol consumption, Zurich asks:
How often you have an alcoholic drink
How many drinks you consumer on a typical day when you’re drinking
How frequently you have more than 8 units (if you’re a male) or 6 units (if you’re a female)
Whether you’ve been informed that you have liver damage
Whether drink driving has caused you to be banned from driving
Whether you have attended an alcohol support group
Most insurance companies will follow a similar pattern of questions, to determine the risk level of an applicant’s alcohol intake.
The exact level of alcohol consumption that causes your application to be declined differs from insurer to insurer.
“our ratings typically start when the total number of units is more than 30 per week […] Once someone has a total unit equivalent of more than 50 per week (the equivalent of three or four drinks per day) chances are they are doing quite a lot of damage to their health and we would decline to offer terms”
“If you drink 30-40 standard drinks per week, your application will need to go through extra underwriting and you’ll probably need to provide medical information from your GP, but you might still be able to take out cover. If you currently drink 40+ standard drinks per week, it’s likely your application will be declined”
These quotes offer insight to the general kind of level of alcohol intake which starts to present issues when taking out insurance.
“If there is a history of alcohol dependence we may offer terms, but only after a period of complete abstinence.”
This is typical among most insurance companies.
It’s much easier to take out life insurance if you are no longer misusing alcohol but a period of sobriety is usually required by insurers before they are willing to offer you a policy. Reassured puts this range at 1-5 years, depending on who the insurer is.
Overall, misusing alcohol can have harmful effects on your health, relationships, finances, work, and also on your ability to take out insurance.
by Red Star Wealth
In yesterday’s Autumn statement, Hunt announced £30 billion worth of spending cuts and £24 billion worth of tax rises over the next 5 years. This increased taxation and cuts to government spending is aimed at rebuilding the economy after instability from the Covid pandemic, Truss and Kwarteng’s failure of a mini-budget, and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
“Stealth Taxes”
Income tax’s personal allowance, the main national insurance thresholds and inheritance tax thresholds have been frozen for a further two years.
Some members of the opposition have branded these as “stealth taxes”. This is because the freezes effectively means that people will have to pay more tax as wage increases (due to inflation) will push them into higher tax brackets.
This payment of higher taxes alongside continuing inflation will mean the cost of living crisis will be hitting us all even harder.
Higher Rate Tax Payers
Currently, those earning between £50,271 and £150,000 a year fall into the higher rate income tax band of 40%. Those earning above £150,000 a year then pay the additional rate of income tax of 45%.
As of April 2023, this threshold will reduce from £150,000 to £125,140, meaning higher earners will be paying more tax.
Protecting the Vulnerable
Hunt has announced additional cost-of-living payments for the most vulnerable:
£900 for those claiming benefits
£300 for pensioners
£150 for those on disability benefits
He has also introduced a cap on the increase in social rents, at a maximum of 7% in the 2023/2024 tax year.
The triple lock on pensions has been maintained, meaning state pensions will increase in line with inflation. Working age and disability benefits are also to increase in line with inflation.
The national living wage is to increase by 9.7%, rising to £10.42 in April 2023, which will benefit the lowest-paid employees in the UK.
Funding the NHS, Schools and Social Care
Hunt has announced an extra £2.3 billion per year to be invested in schools over the next two years.
He has also announced an increase in the NHS budget by an additional £3.3 billion in each of the next two years.
Additionally, Hunt has allocated adult social care additional grant funding of £1 billion next year and £1.7 billion the year after. As well as this, the implementation of the Dilnot reforms has been delayed by two years. These reforms would cap the amount any one person in England would have to pay towards social care to £86,000. Delaying this means we will have more funding for the social care sector.
Energy and Electricity
In May 2022, Rishi Sunak introduced a tax as chancellor called the Energy Profits Levy. This was a 25% surcharge applied to companies profiting from extracting UK oil and gas, and was to run as a temporary levy until the end of 2025. In yesterday’s Autumn statement, Hunt announced that this windfall tax will increase to 35% from January 2023 and will also stay in place for longer, until March 2028.
A temporary new electricity generator levy will also be introduced. This will impose a 45% windfall tax on profits of selling electricity above £75MWh.
From 2025, electric vehicles will no longer be exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (often referred to as Road Tax), which will help further raise Government funds.
It was also confirmed that plans for £700 million of Government funding into the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk are to go ahead. This new nuclear power plant is expected to create 10,000 jobs and generate enough power for 6 million homes. The aim is to get the UK on the road to energy independence, so that we are no longer so heavily affected by changes in global gas prices in the future. It also signals the first UK state backing for a nuclear project in over 30 years. However, over the plant’s expected 13-17 years of construction, the government has predicted it will add an average surcharge of around £1 a month to household bills. This means that, yet again, our finances are likely to be under even more strain.
