If energy bills weren’t enough to worry about, in a shocking investigation of dentistry services across the UK, an analysis by the BBC has found that 94% of dental practices in Bath are not accepting any new NHS patients.
Wera Hobhouse MP has demanded a Health Minister visit dentistry practices in Bath to see for themselves how bad the situation is.
Wera Hobhouse MP also wants the Minister to meet with local people who have been forced to wait in agony for months due to a lack of NHS dentist appointments.
The figures were released alongside harrowing accounts of DIY dentistry as hard-working families and pensioners struggle to find the affordable care that they need.
Responding to the figures, Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse said:
“People in our area should know if they are in pain or face a health emergency that the NHS is there for them. Yet these scandalous figures prove NHS dentistry in Bath is at breaking point.
“Our NHS dental system is broken because this Government has failed to stump up the cash.
“People are being forced to spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds on private dental care with some even resorting to their own at-home DIY dentistry.
“The fault for this lies solely with the Conservative Government. They have done next to nothing to tackle this crisis. Shamefully, we haven’t heard anything at all from Sunak or Truss on the dental crisis, despite people having to live in agony.
“I demand Health Ministers visit Bath and meet with local dentists and patients to hear just how bad things are here.
“It is high time that the NHS dentist contract was reformed and plans brought forward to recruit more local NHS dentists, so no matter where you live you know you can get the NHS dental care you need.”
The NHS has got is priorities all wrong. Basic services such as dental and eye care should be the bedrock of the NHS. Too much is spent on research and not enough on the basics. I don’t want to live forever but I do want to be able to see a doctor, a dentist, an optician or get seen at A&E without having to wait for eternity! Whatever happened to the school eye tests and dental checks (plus the School Dental Clinic at Bluecoat Hse) of my Bath childhood?