Oral Answers to Questions

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Tuesday 15th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

9. What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the NHS dental contracting framework.

[The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the excellent work he does for the people of Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme. The scale of the problem that he points out is massive. One of the most shocking statistics I have discovered since taking up this position is that the most common reason for children aged five to nine being admitted to hospital is tooth decay. That is completely and utterly shocking—truly Dickensian. We cannot fix the matter overnight, but we are committed to reforming the dental contract and working with the British Dental Association to focus on prevention and on the retention of NHS dentists. We are also working at pace to ensure that patients can access an additional 700,000 urgent dental appointments.

[Lee Pitcher]

The horror stories I hear in my constituency are just awful: from the mum on the Isle of Axholme who could not find an NHS dentist after five years and who carries out her own treatment on her son, to a gentleman in Doncaster East whose teeth are crumbling due to illness, causing him horrendous pain, and who cannot get an appointment. The Government’s pledge to provide more emergency appointments is great, but I know that it will take time to rebuild dentistry. Can the Minister reassure me that people in my constituency will be given the priority they deserve?

[Stephen Kinnock]

My hon. Friend is right. South Yorkshire has the highest level of hospital tooth extractions in England, and I want to assure him that we will target interventions at the areas of greatest need. For example, integrated care boards have started to advertise roles through our “golden hello” scheme, which will drive recruitment of graduate dentists to areas of greatest need for three years. We have inherited a mess and we are working at pace to clear it up.