This week, I held an urgent meeting with Neil O’Brien MP, the Minister responsible for Dentistry, on plans to boost access to local dentist care.
During the meeting, I raised with the Minister issues in my West Sussex constituency revealed by my NHS Survey to which over 2,000 residents have now responded. It showed new patients struggling to sign up to surgeries and the lack of availability of appointments since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Minister highlighted the upcoming NHS Dental Recovery Plan which is due to be published in the coming weeks which will tackle the biggest issues facing dentistry in the county.
During the meeting, it was also outlined action being taken to improve dentistry provision today, including more payment bands to better reflect the fair cost of work and incentivise NHS work. The Minister also said he understood challenges with the current funding formula which dates back to one introduced in 2006 which doesn’t properly reflect rural areas or those with faster ageing populations.
The Government invests £3 billion a year in dentistry and dental activity is a fifth higher than it was a year ago.
After conducting my own NHS Survey, engaging with thousands of residents, I know that dentistry provision is a big concern. It rightly frustrates the residents whom I represent to see new housing developments when there are already too few NHS dentists to go around.
From my meeting with the Minister, I am confident that the Government does understand the issues facing residents in West Sussex, and I look forward to seeing the next steps which the Minister talked about to help NHS Dentistry.
