Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said 700,000 dental appointments will be delivered “as a matter of urgency” to address “dental deserts”.
Mr Streeting also confirmed the Government would continue with some aspects of the Tories’ dentistry recovery plans, but said he would be dropping the “gimmicks”.
Prior to the General Election, the Conservatives set out a £200 million dental recovery plan aimed at bolstering the NHS and providing 2.5 million more appointments.
Speaking during health questions on Tuesday, he told the Commons: “NHS dentistry is non-existent in huge parts of the country.
“There were aspects of the previous government’s dental recovery plan which we will stick with because they’re the right solutions. There are other gimmicks which we will not proceed with and we will come forward, as I’ve stated, with a serious plan to reform the dental contract.”
Labour MP Alice Macdonald described her constituency of Norwich North as a “dental desert” and called for a dental school to be established in the east of England, to train more dentists.
Mr Streeting branded Norwich North the “Sahara of dental deserts”, stating there were only 36 dentists per 100,000 residents, compared to the national average of 53.
![A dental nurse holds dental instruments](http://image.assets.pressassociation.io/v2/image/production/48718109c4f97f821d7cb5d45fba2426Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzIxODIxOTc2/2.4186008.jpg?w=640)
Responding to Ms Macdonald, he added that he would be “delighted” to meet with her to discuss the University of East Anglia’s proposal further.
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) asked Mr Streeting for a “timeline” for dental reform, adding: “When can we see change?”
Mr Streeting replied that the Government will be “making progress, talking to the BDA (British Dental Association), and working within the department and across the sector to get those 700,000 appointments up and running as a matter of urgency”.
Later in the session, Mr Streeting branded the Tories’ attempts to “laud” their plans for dental vans as “an absolute disgrace”.
This came in response to shadow health minister Saqib Bhatti, who pushed Mr Streeting to get dental vans on the road by autumn.
The former minister said: “We had agreed with NHS England that the first (dental) vans would be on the road by this autumn, and I know that this timescale was welcomed by colleagues across the House. Will (Mr Streeting) confirm that dental vans will be on the road by this autumn?”
Mr Streeting replied: “I couldn’t have picked a better example of the desperately low ceiling of ambition the previous government had than the fact that they laud, after 14 years, their triumph of dental vans roaming the country in the absence of actual dentists and dental surgeries.
“What an absolute disgrace.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel