Stephen Morgan MP has met with Minister for Care Stephen Kinnock MP following this week’s announcement that the Government will be bolstering the NHS’ dental workforce by thousands.
- Thousands more dentists will be available to see patients as government helps clear backlog of those waiting to take professional registration exams
- First sustained expansion of dental school places in nearly 2 decades will also allow 50 more dentists to be trained every year from 2027
- Training places to be targeted in so-called dental deserts where patients often have to fight through their teeth to get an appointment
With Portsmouth previously having been identified as a dental desert, and the University of Portsmouth now being eligible to bid for these new dental school places, Mr Morgan met with the Minister for Care to discuss the potential of this dentistry expansion for the city.
As evidence indicates that dental students tend to practice near where they trained, increasing dental school places has the potential to increase the availability of NHS dentistry in Portsmouth through increased appointments and practices if new places are allocated to the University of Portsmouth’s Dental School, which will officially open this June.
Commenting, Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“It was a pleasure to be able meet with the Minister responsible for dentistry this week to discuss the necessary expansion of places of dental schools, especially for Portsmouth.
“Improving access to NHS dentistry for Portsmouth people has always been a priority of mine in the work I do both locally and in Parliament.
“That is why this week’s announcement on expanding dental school places is so crucial. It was helpful to discuss these issues directly with the Minister and what it will mean for Portsmouth patients.
“Training more dentists and allowing greater numbers of those qualified overseas to practise, will put more patients in Portsmouth in dental chairs to receive care when they need it most.”
Commenting, Stephen Kinnock MP, Minister for Care, said:
“No one in the 21st century should be left in a situation where they cannot access a dentist.
“That is why today’s announcement is crucial, as training more dentists and allowing greater numbers of those qualified overseas to practise will put more patients in dental chairs, receiving care when they need it most.
“These investments show this government is serious about rebuilding NHS dentistry and laying the foundations to make it fit for the future.”
