NHS Dentistry: Rural Areas

Debate between Stephen Kinnock and Tim Roca

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Kinnock]

My hon. Friend points to a specific problem set against the backdrop of the general challenge that we face in dentistry, thanks to the legacy of 14 years of Tory incompetence and negligence. We will of course look into it, and if she would care to write to me, I would be happy to look into the issue.

The hon. Member for Chippenham is right to raise the problem of NHS dentistry in rural areas—a problem that will, sadly, be familiar to Members across the House. The truth is that we are very far from where we need to be. Lord Darzi’s review laid bare the true extent of the challenges facing our health service, including NHS dentistry, and even he, with all his years of experience, was shocked by what he discovered. His report was vital, because it gave us the frank assessment we need to face the problems honestly and properly. It will take lasting reform and a long-term health plan to save our NHS. Rescuing NHS dentistry will not happen overnight, but we will not wait to make improvements to the system, increase access and incentivise the workforce to deliver more NHS care.

The Government have committed to three seismic shifts: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention. Our 10-year plan will set out how we will deliver those shifts to give the country an NHS that is fit for the future.

[Tim Roca (Macclesfield) (Lab)]

I share the astonishment of other Members that not a single Conservative Member is here, in a debate on NHS dentistry in rural areas. I am a bit old-fashioned and I want a functioning Opposition. It is sad that they are not here to take part in this debate. When I contacted surgeries in Macclesfield to find out the state of play, 15 said that they do not accept NHS patients at all. That is the legacy that the Conservatives have left us. Can the Minister confirm that the Government will move urgently and quickly on NHS dentistry reform?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. Interventions should be short, and the Minister must respond to the Member whose debate it is.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Kinnock and Tim Roca

Tuesday 23rd July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

9. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to NHS mental health services.

[Tim Roca (Macclesfield) (Lab)]

20. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to NHS mental health services.

[The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Mohammad Yasin) on his re-election and my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Tim Roca) on his election. More than a million people with mental health issues are not getting the support they need. This Government will fix our broken NHS. That will include recruiting 8,500 mental health workers, including specialist mental health professionals in every school and rolling out young futures hubs in every community. As announced in the Gracious Speech, we are bringing forward legislation to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983, which is a hugely significant step that has been warmly welcomed by service users, campaigners and, indeed, the former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May.

[Stephen Kinnock]

I know that my hon. Friend has been campaigning with great passion and conviction on this issue for some time, and I am in no doubt that his integrated care board will have listened carefully to every word that he has said today. I would be pleased to meet him so that we can discuss this matter in greater detail.

[Tim Roca]

The Prime Minister has been clear that the Government will make, unlike their predecessor, evidence-based policy. While the NHS has made some high-level progress, the figures for those waiting for mental health elective care remains unacceptably high, but the data is incomplete. Does the Minister agree that comprehensive data is crucial if we are to serve the patients we care about?

[Stephen Kinnock]

I welcome my hon. Friend warmly to his place. I hope he will not mind if I use this analogy, which is that you cannot make a prescription unless you have the diagnosis, and you cannot make policy on the hoof. We cannot have the chaos, neglect and failure that we have seen from the Conservatives for the past 14 years because they have not made policy based on evidence and data. I am absolutely on board with what my hon. Friend says, and I would be more than happy to discuss it with him further at his convenience.