Anna Sabine MP fights for better dental care
Anna Sabine MP fights for better dental care
Anna Sabine MP for Frome and East Somerset today convened a Parliamentary debate on the important issue of Dentistry in Somerset. Speaking in Westminster Hall, Anna spoke of how Somerset is “particularly neglected” as a region when it comes to access to dentists with the South West suffering “the worst access problems of all regions in England” according to the latest ONS data.
With only 32% of adults seeing an NHS dentist in the 2 years up to June 2024, Somerset has a much lower average than the national average of 40%, with children sitting at well below the national average of 55%, at only 42%, having significantly dropped since pre Covid. The data shows that 1 in 5 children in Somerset have tooth decay by the time they are 5, and the numbers have seriously deteriorated in recent years.
“It’s symptomatic of the lack of investment in the region, not only in health and social care, but withdrawn Levelling Up Funding for the area”. Anna said opening the debate.
“I am concerned that not enough is happening, fast enough. The Health Secretary made a point of meeting the British Dental Association on his first day in office, but the BDA tell me that there has been little follow up.”
Asking the Minister whether the Government has yet entered into formal negotiations to reform the dental contract, Anna spoke of the breadth of pressure poor oral care puts on the rest of the NHS as well. Whilst the Government have committed to a roll out of 700 thousand extra urgent care appointments in April, this is less than a third than what is needed. A neglect of primary care in dentistry leads to this avalanche of need for urgent care and hospitals are struggling to provide either the urgent appointments nor the aftercare that many require, including as Anna noted, one of her constituents who needed supplementary dental care after a fall and remains waiting and another who, unable to afford private care, is needing to call 111 for urgent tooth removal, one at a time.
“a failure to invest in dentistry now, not only causes more and more pain but also gets more and more expensive and adds pressure onto the NHS in the long term: cancers get undiagnosed, people are forced to use 111 or A&E. People simply get pushed around the system, instead of being treated or even preventing illness.”
The Liberal Democrats are calling for proper investment in dental services and the ring fencing of the necessary funding to allow NHS dentistry to prevail long term. “NHS dental practices must be offered relief from the NICs rise” Anna said, adding that this should “be extended to the wider health and social care sector including GP surgeries, care homes, hospices and pharmacies”.
Urging the Minister to take action now to invest in the training and retention of NHS dentists, Anna said parents and families need more support in accessing dentistry, insisting “we cannot let Somerset slip further and further down the national average, which is already a low bar, and create more pain, misery and costs for generations to come”