I’m a former A&E doctor: Here’s the problem with the government’s NHS plan

3 July 2025, 17:23

The Prime Minister has this week laid out his plan for the ten-year future of the NHS, with reforms that he says will ‘fundamentally rewire’ the service.

As a doctor myself, having spent time working in a busy A&E department, I’ve seen firsthand how incredible and dynamic the system can be, but also how much it needs major reform and revitalisation.

From looking at the outlined plan, there’s certainly a lot to be encouraged by.

A focus on prevention, the embrace of technology and the devolution of healthcare to end the postcode lottery of healthcare in the UK all represent steps in the right direction. 

The integration of A.I. is one of the ways the government is working smart with this plan, implementing it for tasks undertaken by doctors like taking patient notes.

This will streamline the work of frontline practitioners and give them more time to focus on patients.

At my company 32Co we’ve found success using artificial intelligence to make things as quick and simple as possible for our dentists, whilst not being used as a substitute for the knowledge, expertise and personal touch that only they can provide.

But the scale of the crisis the government faces when it comes to recruitment, retention and training will require more than just fresh thinking.

Take dentistry for example: Amongst the changes which are detailed in the plan are several measures to ‘tackle the current lottery of access to dentists’.

Every day we hear of someone in urgent need of dental care having to take matters into their own hands because they cannot access the help they need.

Removing teeth with pliers, travelling to a dentist hundreds (or even thousands) of miles away or even resorting to unverified online vendors for a risky quick-fix  - all because our once efficient dentistry system is now bowing under the pressure.

One of the announcements meant to tackle this is a plan to hand power to dental therapists to perform check-ups, some treatments and manage referrals.

This is an idea that benefits both patients and practitioners.

By allowing dental therapists to undertake more tasks, it lifts some of the workload from dentists who can now be left to focus on more complex needs, while enabling therapists to learn in a faster, hands-on manner, and spreading the day-to-day dentistry workload across more people meaning patients get seen faster.

In the above example we see a potential solution to a major issue facing the NHS but while practical, it doesn’t quite meet the scale of the crisis.

Redeploying existing resources will only get you so far without a serious reckoning when it comes to the existential crises facing NHS care. 

The most dire of these crises is recruitment: Recent data shows that there are almost 16% fewer fully qualified GPs in the UK than other high income countries relative to population.

The shortage of doctors in England means that the average GP has to care for 17% more patients than 9 years ago.

And in dentistry, recent data from the British Dental Association found that a fifth of positions for general NHS dentists were vacant.

The government has promised an NHS workforce plan for later this year, and without more detail on how they plan on tackling a crisis this severe, the reforms announced this week risk being nothing more than a few clever tweaks and empty promises. 

The same is true when it comes to training.

The government has correctly identified that too much of healthcare is centralised and that there is a postcode lottery when it comes to health outcomes.

But even beyond the issue of recruitment, its plan for regional health centres won’t work if a better system for training and information exchange is established.

This is what I’ve been championing since leaving the NHS.

In my time in the health service I witnessed the staggering level and breadth of knowledge all held under one roof.

Outside of hospitals it is a severely untapped and overlooked resource.

The more diffuse and specialised healthcare becomes to meet the demands of tomorrow, the more crucial it is that there is a robust system in place that allows specialists and experts to train and advise general practitioners. 

A training pipeline like this not only improves health outcomes and allows more employees to undertake more complex tasks, it also improves retention outcomes with doctors and dentists feeling more fulfilled and satisfied. Whilst the plans announced today are a positive step, major issues still remain and there’s still a long way to go.

Clear vision and new thinking is required to bring more dentists into the health service, keep them there, and make them more qualified in the process.

________________

Dr Sonia Szamocki is a former NHS doctor and founder & CEO of collaborative healthcare company 32co

LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.

To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk