Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dentists are taking on new patients in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.

Whilst the information requested is not held centrally, in 2022/23 1,109 dentists in the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board performed some National Health Service work work. This is equivalent to 65.2 dentists per 100,000.

NHS dentists are required to update their NHS website profiles regularly, at least every 90 days, to ensure patients have access to up-to-date information on where they can access care. Patients unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance.

On 7 February 2024 we published Faster, simpler and fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry. This plan sets out a number of actions which will improve access for patients by helping the sector to recover activity more quickly, addressing underlying issues, and setting out the action needed for longer term reform of the system. The Government is backing the plan with £200 million, and it includes the offer of additional payments to dental practices for each additional new patient requiring treatment. This will be rolled out from March this year, making it easier for patients to access NHS treatment.