Scots dentists’ morale plunges to new low
Morale among Scottish dentists has plunged to an unprecedented low, a new report has revealed.
The figures show that dentists in Scotland are the most demoralised in the UK.
The data on the depth of the morale crisis is contained within a report from the HSCIC Dental Working Hours, 2012/13 & 2013/14.
Commenting on the findings, the chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee (SDPC), Robert Donald, said: “These figures are shocking, but come as no surprise.
“Ever falling incomes and rising expenses make general practice a stressful environment to operate in.
“The SDPC believes this is a situation that requires action now.
“We call on the Scottish Government to recognise the heavy demands placed upon general dental practitioners and start addressing the causes of poor morale.”
The report states that its main findings in Scotland for 2013/14 are:
- Associate dentists report higher levels of motivation than principal dentists.
- A ‘motivation index’ has been calculated for each dentist based on their answers to the motivation questions. The index exhibits a negative relationship with age and the proportion of time dedicated to NHS work. For example, it is predicted that switching from all private to all NHS work would decrease the ‘motivation index’ of Principals by 18.2 percentage points.
- Annual leave has a positive relationship with motivation for dentists and is associated with higher motivation.
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