The complaint
Anne complained that NHS England failed to arrange the dental treatment she needed after being referred from her dental practice to hospital services. This left her without effective treatment for eight years.
Background
Anne, 58, from South Devon, broke a front tooth and damaged another in an accident in 2017. She did not receive effective treatment until 2025.
The damage made it difficult for Anne to eat and affected her confidence and her employment. She worked as a teacher and says she was told her appearance was not professional enough to teach face-to-face.
Anne's dental practice told her they could not provide the treatment she needed and referred her to hospital services. However, the Trust she was referred to said she had "fallen into a gap between primary and secondary care". They advised her to raise the issue with NHS England (NHSE). NHSE noted there was a lack of resources in the area which made it challenging to provide the care she needed.
In 2019, Anne was fitted with a denture after funding was approved through an Individual Funding Request to NHSE. However, this denture type had already been identified as clinically unsuitable for her overbite and gag reflex.
Following this treatment, Anne and hospital consultants chased NHSE for the treatment she needed. NHSE did not complete actions within promised timescales or respond to emails and phone calls. They also supplied inaccurate or incomplete information.
Against her wishes, NHSE sent Anne for five further consultant treatment planning appointments. This was despite the first consultant having already identified the treatment she needed.
Anne complained to NHSE, which should respond to complaints within 40 days. It took over two years to reply, and the response did not address the issues raised or give comprehensive answers to her specific questions. Nor did NHSE signpost her to the Ombudsman until 18 months after she raised her complaint.
What we found
We upheld this complaint. We found that Anne was unable to get the treatment she needed for eight years, which was an unacceptable delay. The wider system for commissioning NHS dental services is confusing. This affects patients, as well as the people responsible for managing and delivering services.
This case is not an isolated issue. We are reviewing our evidence around NHS commissioning and working to better understand how these problems affect patients more widely.
Putting it right
We recommended that NHSE:
- apologise to Anne
- make a payment to her to recognise the impact of its failings
- detail what actions it will take to make sure similar failings do not happen again.
NHSE has complied with these recommendations and has committed to sharing learning from our investigation with all Integrated Care Boards.