Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan has slammed Rishi Sunak over his comments at PMQs this week where the Prime Minister used misleading statistics to play down the crisis in dentistry.
Mr Morgan has echoed statements from the British Dental Association who criticised the Prime Minister for offering misleading lines on workforce, funding and reform.
The City MP has accused the Prime Minister of burying his head in the sand over the dentist crisis in Portsmouth and across the country.
Mr Morgan has called on local people to make their voices heard on the dentist shortage by filling in his survey so he can continue lobbying for change.
According to the BDA, on funding the PM has repeatedly cited the £3bn NHS budget. This budget has remained effectively static for a decade, subject to savage real terms cuts.
The Prime Minister unveiled a 5-point plan to end the access crisis during the Conservative leadership election last summer. No element of it has been taken forward.
BUPA has recently announced mass closures and over 300 patients queued outside a Kings Lynn practice last Tuesday from 4am to secure access, a sight not seen in England for a generation.
The Association of Dental Groups (ADG) has found that Portsmouth has the 7th lowest amount of NHS dentists per 100,000 in the country, at 42.
Responding to the Prime Minister’s latest comments, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“Rather than take action to help people, the Prime Minister continues to bury his head in the sand and dither over the dental crisis in Portsmouth and across the country.
“I am increasingly hearing from constituents who can’t get a dentist, and we are starting to hear more and more horror stories of DIY dentistry.
“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. Until then, I will continue to do all I can to lobby for change on this issue.”
Shawn Charlwood, Chair of the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee said:
“While ministers rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic, their captain refuses to accept this service has even hit the iceberg.
“This ‘crisis, what crisis?’ attitude flies in the face of the facts.
“The reality is mass closures, the return of queues outside practices, and millions unable to secure the care they need.
“Until the PM recognises this, we won’t see progress.”
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 also raised the issue frequently in Parliament.
Mr Morgan’s dentist survey is available at www.stephenmorgan.org.uk/dentist
