Access to Dentistry: Somerset
Debate between Anna Sabine and Gideon Amos(3 weeks, 4 days ago)
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Anna Sabine
I absolutely agree. Given the time limitations, I have not come on to discuss the challenges that places such as Somerset face due to their rurality, including the difficulties in getting to services, but my hon. Friend is absolutely right.
The BDA’s asks and policy proposals are clear: the Government must invest in dental services and secure a long-term funding settlement for NHS dentistry that keeps pace with demand, and budgets allocated to NHS dentistry must be ringfenced. The BDA also agrees with the Liberal Democrats that NHS dental practices must be offered relief on the national insurance contributions rise announced in the most recent Budget. The Lib Dems believe that such relief should be extended to the wider health and social care sector, including GP surgeries, care homes, hospitals and pharmacies.
Parents and families across Somerset are crying out for extra support with accessing affordable and reliable dentistry, and access to an NHS dentist should be guaranteed to everyone needing urgent and emergency care. To catch up with the national average, Somerset needs extra investment, and it needs it quickly.
Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing attention to the dental desert that is Somerset and to how keenly it is felt. Does she agree that many families have to choose between putting food on the table and paying to take their child to the dentist? We can expose the reality of the dental desert through more research, which I will be carrying out in Taunton and Wellington very soon.