RIP NHS?

Received some unsettling news about the NHS locally today. Apparently rather than recommissioning NHS provision when a dentist leaves the NHS the PCT has been keeping the money to pay off the losses in what is called the 'patient charge revenue' throughout Cornwall. While this will help the PCT in the short term, in the longer term this funding will end up being permanently lost to Cornwall. In our case despite taking on an extra dentist we've been informed that we've been failing to reach our targets (the letter helpfully informs us that 70 percent of local dentists are also failing to reach their targets). Our argument has always been that as these targets were simply guessed at rather than being worked out according to the government formula they were wrong from the beginning.. It is all really worrying and in particular its bad for those genuinely poor patients and their dependants who will be absolutely stuck if we lose our contract. I am really starting to think that the government will be happier if they can drop dentistry from health care all together. RIP NHS dentistry