Access to Primary Healthcare

Liz Jarvis Excerpts

Wednesday 16th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Liz Jarvis (Eastleigh) (LD)]

I am so pleased that we are having this very important debate this afternoon.

Like my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Manuela Perteghella), I wish to highlight the issues facing dentistry. Eastleigh is facing an acute NHS dental crisis, with many of my constituents unable to access basic dental care. By the end of 2023, more than 48% of children in Hampshire had not been seen by an NHS dentist in the previous two years. According to the NHS website, only a third of dentists in my constituency are taking on new NHS patients. I have heard from residents who are desperately trying to find an NHS dentist, but, after calling surgery after surgery, they cannot find one taking on new NHS patients.

Some 62% of adults in Hampshire have not been seen by an NHS dentist in the past two years. That leaves them with very limited choices: go without any treatment at all, try to find the money for private treatment, or resort to DIY dentistry. One resident told me that their NHS dental appointment was cancelled at very short notice, with no alternative offered, because their highly skilled dentist from Poland left after Brexit and now there is no NHS dentist available at his local practice.

Another constituent told me how his dental practice is struggling to keep appointments, and now has only one NHS dentist available, and that is on Saturdays only. Patients are being asked to sign forms agreeing to private treatment at NHS prices, without the protections that they would usually receive under NHS care.

The previous Government pushed NHS dentistry to the brink of collapse. I hope the new Government will reverse that trend by increasing investment in dentistry, using unspent funds to increase the number of NHS dental appointments and removing VAT on children’s toothbrushes and toothpaste to make oral health more affordable. As a local NHS dentist told me, the dental contract is not fit for purpose. His colleagues are leaving the NHS in droves.

My constituents in Eastleigh would benefit from an emergency rescue plan for NHS dentistry. Proper investment to tackle this crisis would offer more NHS dental appointments and deliver free check-ups for children. This is the kind of direct action that we need to prevent more children from suffering and to ensure that everyone, regardless of their income, can access high quality dental care.