Stephen Morgan MP has spoken out today against the Government’s continued inaction in tackling the ‘dental desert’ in Portsmouth, calling on the Ministers to set out urgent and of NHS dentistry to ensure Portsmouth people receive the care they deserve.
It comes as a recent report by the Health and Social Care Committee describes the evidence of pain and distress due to being unable to see an NHS dentist as ‘totally unacceptable in the 21st century’.
The Committee also cited frustration that recommendations for reform made by their predecessor Committee 15 years ago have still not been implemented.
British Dental Association (BDA) analysis reveals this pain and distress continues to impact Portsmouth people, with only 36.4% of children seen by an NHS dentist and just 31.5% of adults.
The Association of Dental Groups (ADG) has found that Portsmouth has the 7th lowest number of NHS dentists per 100,000 in the country, at 42.
Mr Morgan has said that the Government is to blame for the chronic under funding of the NHS and for inaction on reform of dental contracts, with the BDA citing as the cause of long-standing problems with burnout, recruitment and retention in NHS dental services.
Earlier this year a pair of new dentist practices in Portsmouth received 3,000 registration calls in five days from local residents, demonstrating the overwhelming local demand for increased services.
Commenting City MP Stephen Morgan said:
“A delay of 15 years to implement reforms which could have prevented dentists quitting in their droves and improve dentist access in Portsmouth is simply not good enough.
The Health and Social Care Committee’s report reveals once again the Conservatives cannot be trusted to fix the problem they have created through chronic underfunding and mismanagement.
I will continue to do all I can to lobby for change so that Portsmouth people get the dental care they need, when they need it. The last Labour government reduced waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks and the next one will ensure patients once again get the treatment they need.”
Mr Morgan is spending time on the frontline in our city’s health and social care services to hear first-hand the impact of the crisis in NHS dentistry and the dental desert Portsmouth has become. He has launched his own dental survey to hear concerns and raised the issue frequently in Parliament.
The dental survey is available for completion at www.stephenmorgan.org.uk/dentist
