NHS Dentistry: Rural Areas
Debate between Sarah Gibson and Jayne Kirkham(2 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Sarah Gibson
I agree with the hon. Member. The disparity is clear. As he mentioned, rural areas are being hardest hit by our broken NHS dental contract system.
Unfortunately, there does not seem to be much hope on the horizon. Denplan tells me that 90% of dentists plan to reduce their NHS commitment in the next two years and that the UK has the lowest dentist-to-population ratio in the whole of Europe. Although all dentists are dedicated to improving the nation’s health, access to NHS dental services remains a persistent challenge under the current system, particularly in rural areas.
Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)
In lieu of the dental contract being renegotiated, could something not be done by the local integrated care boards that commission dentistry to make special provision for local contracts when dentists are considering giving up contracts in the short term? That could be done now, in lieu of that renegotiation.