Children In Portsmouth struggle to find a Dentist
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- Published: Monday, 07 February 2022 21:29
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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Barely a week after GDPUK reported on a House of Commons Adjournment Debate tabled by Bristol Northwest MP Darren Jones which highlighted the NHS dental access crisis in Bristol and the surrounding area, this week it’s Portsmouth’s turn to sound the alarm.
Portsmouth’s population is predicted to top 216,000 in 2022 according to Hampshire County Council, yet as of March 2021 the city had just 90 NHS dentists – a 26% drop on the previous year. Of the 90 remaining dentists many will be working part time as the head count does not necessarily mean that the clinicians are working a five days commitment.
According to HealthWatch Portsmouth there are school aged children who have never seen a dentist which charman Roger Batterbury blamed on “continuing delays” in the rollout of new practices with “no incentive” being given to existing practices to undertake more NHS work.
Batterbury’s comments predate the announcement of £50M for urgent care to be delivered out of hours by 31st March. Whilst any increase in funding is welcome the short-term nature of the initiative means it will not secure a child a place at a practice for ongoing preventative care.
Portsmouth’s dental woes made the news in 2019 when Colosseum Dental ceased NHS work at practices in Portsea, Southsea and Paulsgrove leaving around ten thousand patients searching for a new dentist to take them on. Although NHS England stepped in with temporary solutions at other practices including Bupa and the University of Portsmouth’s Dental Academy, the city faces many challenges.
"The pressures have grown to the extent that people without the means to afford it are feeling that they are being forced to pay for private dental treatment for care they need urgently” said Roger Batterbury.
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