Making sure that you and your family can access a dental appointment as and when needed is a big priority for me. Not least because when it comes to NHS care I’ve always been of the view, regardless of what those who oppose me may say, that here in our area we deserve world class healthcare.
That’s as much for my family as it is yours. But from all the conversations I’ve been having with residents over the past few months there seems to be a varied response when it comes to accessing dental care. A significant number of you have responded to my latest survey where I asked for people’s experiences in this area. And it backs up the messages that I’ve been taking to Parliament on our behalf.
Because whilst some people tell me of no issues whatsoever, others speak of difficulties finding a dentist and that can’t be right.
Earlier this year I met with the Dental Minister Andrea Leadsom to feed in some of these local concerns. And since then, the Government has launched a new Dental Recovery Plan which aims to alleviate the problem.
Backed by £200 million of extra funding, it will deliver an additional 2.5 million appointments across England over the next year. Crucially though it will incentivise dentists to take on new patients, one issue that is being brought to me time and again. There will also be a focus on areas where access to dentistry is lacking by providing dentists with a one-off payment of £20,000 if they work in these underserved areas.
Some progress has been made already, with 800,000 more dental appointments last year compared to the previous year. But I’m acutely aware that prohibiting dentist appointments throughout the pandemic, for obvious reasons, has exacerbated what was already a growing problem, and that more needs to be done. That’s why I’ve been campaigning on this issue.
Increasing the number of NHS dentists is also a must over the next few years with action already having taken place to reduce barriers to overseas dentists being able to register and work within the NHS. This is the type of high skilled immigration that we should be pursuing, alongside uplifting the number of home grown training places by 40%.
Improving access to NHS dentistry will take time but I’m completely committed to playing my part in improving the system for all in Burnley and Padiham.
