MP Jamie Reed promises to listen
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- Published: Tuesday, 26 March 2013 17:35
- Written by News Editor
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The exchange arose when GDPUK challenged Jamie Reed on a quotation attributed to him in another publication. He was reported as saying: ‘It is entirely plausible that people register with an NHS dentist, but then do not visit them due to costs and other reasons.’
GDPUK pointed out that:
- That the previous Labour Government abolished registration in April 2006.
- Since then it has not been possible to register but both the Labour and Coalition Governments have used the number seen within the previous 24 months as a proxy for registration
- Under this way of counting (as under the previous regiatrtion system) it is impossible to ‘register’ without visiting a dentist.
The MP’s response was:
“After an initial visit to a dentist, it may be that patients do not to visit again due to costs and other factors
“As part of Labour’s Healthcare policy review, I will be undertaking to visit and work-shadow dentistry practices where I can speak with patients and practitioners about all aspects of the current system. This will be followed by a series of round-table policy events and I would encourage anyone with an interest to input into this policy review process in writing. Government changes to the NHS mean that this is a time of great doubt and uncertainty for many dentists.
“This will enable us to ensure the system is geared for patients with sufficient monitoring to maintain standards and access”
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