NHS Dentistry

Debate between Wes Streeting and Alex Cunningham

Tuesday 9th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

It is deeply disappointing. Let me assure the hon. Gentleman that as with the last Labour Government—13 years that created a rising tide that lifted all ships across the country, when we had an NHS with the shortest waiting times and the highest patient satisfaction in history—the next Labour Government will deliver a rising tide to benefit people across the country.

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

The British Dental Association highlights that:

“Hormonal changes during pregnancy can make gums more vulnerable to plaque”,

and:

“Changes to dietary habits, and morning sickness”

can also impact on oral health. After being told of the importance of seeing a dentist after suffering multiple miscarriages, a constituent tells me that she has been struggling for three years to see a dentist within a 50-mile radius of her home. Dentists say that they are going private and are helping only with emergencies. Surely that is evidence of a colossal failure of Tory Government dental policy, and even the most vulnerable are suffering.

[Wes Streeting]

I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. In fact, he has the ability, as the Labour MP for Stockton North, to speak for his residents. If only other people across the country had MPs standing up for them. Chris Webb, Labour’s candidate in Blackpool South, reported to me that pregnant mothers have been telling him they cannot get an NHS dentist, despite being entitled to free NHS check-ups and treatment. Alice Macdonald, Labour’s candidate in Norwich North, reported similar conversations to me. Expectant mothers have told her that they have been travelling hundreds of miles to see a dentist when we know that pregnant women probably need that support more than many others. What an indictment of 14 years of Conservative Government.

Access to GP Services and NHS Dentistry

Debate between Wes Streeting and Alex Cunningham

Tuesday 21st June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight that problem. If the front door of the NHS in primary care is jammed, people end up presenting in A&E. As I shall outline in my speech, this is not only a great inconvenience and burden to patients; it comes at an additional cost to the NHS and we all pay the price for that in every respect.

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

At the GP practice in Norton in my constituency, it is almost impossible to get an appointment on the phone. I have dozens of cases of individuals unable to access vital care. One tried 196 times. The Care Quality Commission has not inspected this practice since 2015. Does my hon. Friend agree that it ought to be doing so now?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wes Streeting and Alex Cunningham

Wednesday 5th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

1. What recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) economic and (b) social effect on Northern Ireland of the UK leaving the EU.

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

14. What recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) economic and (b) social effect on Northern Ireland of the UK leaving the EU.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr Robin Walker)]

We have now left the EU with a good deal. Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK customs territory and will be able to participate in our free trade deals. The Prime Minister negotiated hard to ensure that measures are in place that reflect Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances. There will be no hard border with Ireland. At the same time, the agreement completely safeguards Northern Ireland’s integral place within the United Kingdom, and the arrangements on rights and consent within the Belfast/Good Friday agreement.

NHS Bursary

Debate between Wes Streeting and Alex Cunningham

Monday 11th January 2016 Westminster Hall

[Wes Streeting]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention, and I believe it will make it harder. That concerns me, because Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust covers part of my constituency and the other half is served by the Barts Health NHS Trust. Both trusts are in special measures, and one issue that has contributed to that has been the inability of both trusts to recruit and retain the staff necessary to provide the timely and quality care that residents in Ilford North and other parts of north-east London have come to expect.

[Alex Cunningham]

It is clear that the professionals are very worried about this issue. South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has told a midwife in my constituency and her nurse colleagues that it wants to extend their breaks from 30 minutes to 60 minutes, which means they will have to work an extra shift every four weeks. Many of them cannot take their 30-minute break now, and they are really worried that they will have to work even more hours because the trust will not be able to get the staff it needs if the bursary scheme does not continue. Does my hon. Friend agree that for that reason, the South Tees trust should rethink its plan, and that the Government should do likewise regarding bursaries?

[Wes Streeting]

I certainly agree with my hon. Friend. The Government and the NHS underestimate the extent to which staff at all levels are both working beyond their allocated shifts to plug gaps in the service and going without breaks. Given the settings that those staff work in, it is not in the interests of patients, let alone good for the welfare of the staff themselves, for them to be tired and not taking the breaks they ought to take.