Covid-19: Dental Services

Selaine Saxby Excerpts

Thursday 14th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con) [V]]

One of the very first issues I was contacted about as MP for North Devon was poor NHS dentistry provision, long before covid took hold. I knew that was the case because the only NHS dentist practice I could register with is a 45-minute journey from home.

This time last year, a dental nurse contacted me to advise:

“We are seeing more new patients with severe treatment requirements and high levels of decay because they have had to wait so long to get a dentist and cannot afford private treatment. This leaves patients in pain and at risk of sepsis in some cases. Dental Nurses in North Devon are poorly paid as there is no band structure like other nurses, this means there is a high staff turnover”.

She was concerned that dental nurses could earn more in a bar or supermarket, but with less responsibility.

Now, during covid and heading towards post-covid, it is nearly impossible to get anything other than emergency NHS dental treatment in North Devon. I was fortunate enough to see an NHS dentist in London, but my constituents should be able to access NHS services here in North Devon. Private dentists have begun to fill the gap here and NHS dentists are moving to the private sector.

Those in the private sector are also now in contact with my office with their concerns about the dental health of patients here. One advised:

“As a private dental surgery owner we have been very quick to return to near normal levels of service despite carefully implementing the increased Covid secure measures. NHS services have not! As a result we have been inundated with poor patients in pain and unable to access their NHS services. When they have been treated many are being forced to pay private charges. For too long NHS practices were allocated I believe 80% of the contract value for delivering 25% of the contract and for Q4 of the contract year they now have to only deliver 45%. This is woefully inadequate as it is far more profitable for these surgeries to not deliver care than it is for them to open.”

There are concerns that NHS patient contributions are not being charged correctly and that patients simply cannot access the treatment they need from their NHS dentists.

We had to travel long distances to get dental treatment in North Devon long before the pandemic. Distance and now cost are stopping far too many people seeking the dental treatment they need, and I hope steps can rapidly be taken to address the situation with NHS dentists in North Devon as well as the wider position described in the Chamber today.