Yorkshire Dental Crisis
- Details
- Published: Friday, 22 January 2021 21:19
- Written by Chris Tapper
- Hits: 1072
Thousands of dental patients in deprived areas of Yorkshire face losing their NHS dental care within weeks.
A three-year long ’Access to General Dental Services’ funding scheme is due to cease in April, leaving up to 5,000 patients in Wentworth and Dearne, South Yorkshire, without a dentist.
Local MP John Healey has expressed fears that loss of funding will push those patients, including children, into seeking help from hard-pushed general medical services, such as accident and emergency departments.
Mr Healey told YorkshireLive "This is the possible end of a three-year funding programme with relatively small money - tens of thousands of pounds for each of these surgeries - but it’s allowed them to take on several thousand extra patients who have no dentist.” Speaking about the cut to funding, he said "It’s completely counterproductive and it’s a false economy.”
The Wentworth and Dearne MP is urgently seeking a meeting with NHS regional boss Richard Barker, and Health and Social Care Minister Jo Churchill.
Mr Healey said there had been no explanation given as to why the funding would be cut off in April. "We’ve had no explanation, dentists have been given no information, and so I want to get these meetings with NHS England bosses and with a minister to try and make sure this funding continues and doesn’t stop," he said.
Meanwhile in the East, North West Norfolk MP is fighting for better dental provision as residents struggle to book appointments during the pandemic.
Following the closure of My Dentist in Lynn town centre, former patients are finding it difficult to access an NHS dentist in West Norfolk.
Member of Parliament James Wild told BBC Radio Norfolk that the situation for his constituents in terms of access to dentists was “frightening.”
The MP said that so far 150 people have replied to his online survey on the subject and only about a third of those are unable to get an appointment. Of those that participated, 65 per cent reported that they were with a dentist, far below the national average of 90 per cent.
You need to be logged in to leave comments.
Report