Dental graduate NHS tie-in proposed in Scotland

Scottish dental, medical and nursing graduates would have to work in the NHS for five years or repay tuition support under a new Scottish Labour Party tie-in proposal.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he would implement the ‘train here, stay here’ policy if elected as first minister in this year’s Holyrood election. It would see graduates in dentistry, medicine or nursing from a publicly funded university required to work in Scotland’s NHS or care system for a minimum of five years or repay tuition support and bursaries.

He said: ‘If Scotland pays for your training, Scotland should benefit from your skills.

‘This is about fairness to taxpayers, fairness to patients, and fairness to NHS staff who are too often stretched because the workforce simply is not there.’

The MSP also proposed a new 10-year health plan ‘designed with the professions to align university places, training posts and long-term workforce need’.

How has the dental profession responded to the tie-in proposal?

The British Dental Association (BDA) Scotland criticised this approach to graduate retention, highlighting that it would not keep experienced professionals in the NHS.

Charlotte Waite, director of BDA Scotland, said: ‘Whoever forms the next government of Scotland should focus on making the NHS a place dentists would choose to build a career.

‘The risk is this policy won’t keep a single experienced dentist in the NHS, and it just turns the service into a place you serve time before moving on.

‘Ensuring everyone in Scotland can access the dental care they need requires a fully funded and fully costed NHS dental workforce plan.’

A graduate tie-in has already been confirmed as part of a suite of dental reforms in England. This announcement was met with significant backlash from English dental professionals.

Dental surgeon Kiran Judge said: ‘Shifting the burden onto early career dentists, many already facing student debt, rising living costs, intense clinical pressure and mental health challenges, only deepens existing problems.’

Maya Abdulrazak, a recent dental graduate, added: ‘A more effective and sustainable approach would be to focus on improving working conditions, listen to the concerns of dental professionals, and create an environment people want to remain in, rather than one they are obliged to endure.’

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