Covid-19: Dental Services

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Thursday 14th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab) [V]]

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the increasingly urgent problems with dental care in my constituency. Portsmouth is a densely populated city, and pre-existing problems with patient access and the retention and recruitment of dentists have been exacerbated by this pandemic. Figures from the BDA suggest that 43% of adults in Portsmouth had seen a NHS dentist in the past two years up to June 2020, compared with 48% across England. Figures also show that the fall in the proportion of patients seen in my city during the pandemic has been greater than the average across England. I am very concerned that Portsmouth has been disproportionately affected by the weakness of the current contract system, and that we face the prospect of generational damage to patient care.

The recently imposed NHS activity cut targets are particularly illogical, with practices facing steep financial penalties if they fail to hit 45% of their pre-pandemic NHS activity during the current quarter. Those targets effectively force NHS practices to prioritise volume over need, leaving them with little choice but to conduct routine check-ups instead of clearing the backlog of more time-consuming treatments. This creates an unsustainable situation, in which patients are unable to access the treatment they need while practitioners are in a race against time to maintain their financial viability. Although the Government have committed to reforming the system, we have seen no action and little appetite to do so.

Earlier this week, I met with the BDA’s local dental practice committee and Healthwatch Portsmouth. They told me that the situation is untenable, and practices are increasingly concerned that they will not survive beyond the pandemic, which will further restrict patient access. With nowhere else to turn, one constituent contacted me to help arrange a dental appointment over Christmas. Having been unable to register for a NHS dentist, another constituent joined the 7.6% of English households that have attempted a do-it-yourself tooth extraction using pliers to relieve their pain.

While these stories are anecdotal, they increasingly reflect the reality of dental care in my community. Without urgent change, NHS dentistry in my constituency and across the country could be decimated, permanently damaging patient care for decades to come. I call on the Minister to take action to protect patients and dental practices in Portsmouth, and to hear my concerns today.