Streeting Reviewing Funding Of NHS Dentistry
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- Published: Thursday, 09 January 2025 10:03
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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Secretary of State for Health & Social Care, Wes Streeting, has hinted that in addition to contract reform, NHS dentistry could receive more funding as his department reviews its budget.
Flanked by his departmental ministers including Stephen Kinnock, the Minister responsible for Primary Care, the combative Secretary of State was fielding Health & Social Care questions from MPs (7th January).
Helen Morgan (LibDem North Shropshire) told Mr Streeting that a petition, signed by more than a quarter of a million people, was being handed in to Downing Street complaining about NHS access.
"We have moved on from the election, but we do not yet have a timetable for when the negotiations for a new NHS dental contract will begin and when another 700,000 extra urgent appointments will be rolled out" said Mrs Morgan.
Timetable Needed
She then asked "Can the Secretary of State confirm the timetable for those improvements? What specifically are the Government‘s plans for the new patient premium, and will he offer assurances to dentists that any changes to the current model will be outlined in detail to them as soon as possible?
Mr Streeting replied "We are looking at two things, the first of which is making sure we deliver what we said in our manifesto, including the 700,000 urgent appointments. We are determined to deliver those as fast as we can and my hon. Friend the Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock MP) is having discussions with the British Dental Association to that effect.
"Looking Closely At Money"
"He (Stephen Kinnock) is also looking closely, as am I, at the money that is already going into NHS dentistry—how that money could be better spent and how it is that year after year, despite people‘s teeth rotting to the extent that they are having to pull them out themselves or children having to attend A&E to have their teeth pulled out, we saw consistent underspends in the dentistry budget under our predecessors.
And in a statement which implied that more funds could be made available Mr Streeting added "We are determined to give dentists the tools to do the job so that patients can see a dentist when they need one."
GPs To Receive £889M Uplift
Mr Streeting told the Commons that the Government was also embarking on contract reform negotiations with the BMA to address shortcomings in the GP service. As part of these discussions he confirmed that "in England we are investing £889 million in general practice, the biggest uplift in years. That is in addition to the funding I have found to employ 1,000 more GPs on the frontline before April."
The NHS received a £22BN injection as part of Labour‘s first Budget. Dentistry, the budget for which was severely constrained by the previous administration, is desperate for a slice of the additional NHS funding.
Responding to an earlier question from MP Calum Miller (LibDem) Mr Streeting observed that "NHS dentistry is at death‘s door".
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