Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

NHS Dentists: Access

Tuesday 19 November 2024 · 7 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 5 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Assessment made by the Department indicates that 28% of the population in England has an unmet need for dentistry.
  • Disabled constituents have struggled to find an NHS dentist, with some resorting to seeking emergency treatment in London.
  • Responsibility for dental services in Scotland lies with the Scottish Government, but the UK Government aims to spread best practice and deliver common goals.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Dan Aldridge Lab Weston-super-Mare
NHS
Context

The MP raised concerns about the state of NHS dentistry in England, noting tooth decay as the most common reason for hospital admissions among children aged five to nine. He highlighted that 28% of the population lacks access to necessary dental care.

Question

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to NHS dentists.

Answer from Stephen Kinnock

After 14 years of Tory neglect and incompetence, NHS dentistry in England has been left in a parlous state. Tooth decay is the most common reason why children aged five to nine are admitted to hospital, and 28% of the country—13 million people—have an unmet need for dentistry. Rescuing NHS dentistry will not happen overnight. We will expand the provision of urgent dental appointments across the country, and we are working with the sector to reform the dental contract in order to increase access and incentivise more NHS care.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide a direct assessment of the adequacy of current access to NHS dentists, instead focusing on broad issues and measures being taken.

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Q2 Andrew Pakes Labour (Co-op) Peterborough
NHS
Context

The MP heard from a disabled constituent who had spent over a year trying to find an NHS dentist, eventually seeking emergency treatment in London. The only solution provided was for the integrated care board to put 12 extra dentists into Peterborough and surrounding towns.

Question

Yesterday, I heard from a disabled constituent who has spent over a year trying to find an NHS dentist, but without success. The only solution was to come to London for emergency treatment—that became a shockingly common story under the previous Government. As a first step, our integrated care board is putting 12 extra dentists into Peterborough and the surrounding towns to increase access. Will the Minister update the House on progress and on how we will further improve access to NHS dentistry?

Answer from Stephen Kinnock

I am very pleased to hear about what my hon. Friend's ICB is doing. Working with the dental sector, we will deliver measures to improve access, targeting areas that need it most. Those measures include 700,000 additional urgent appointments and reform of the dental contract. The golden hello scheme, which incentivises dentists to work in underserved areas, is under way across the country, and dentists are also being offered a new patient premium to treat new patients.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific updates on progress made by the integrated care board; instead highlighted broader measures being taken.

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Q3 Richard Baker Lab Glenrothes and Mid Fife
NHS
Context

The MP noted that over 40,000 people in Fife are not registered with an NHS dentist. He suggested sharing learning from the Government's action to increase access to dentistry with his colleagues in the Scottish Government.

Question

Does the Minister agree that it is unacceptable that more than 40,000 people in Fife are not registered with an NHS dentist? Will he share any learning from this Government's action to increase access to dentistry with his colleagues in the Scottish Government, and urge them to fulfil their responsibilities so that people in my constituency can get the dental treatment that they need?

Answer from Stephen Kinnock

Responsibility for dental services in Scotland is of course a matter for the Scottish Government, but Governments across the UK work together to spread best practice and deliver on our common goals. The Scottish National party Government have an extra £1.5 billion this year, and £3.4 billion next year, through the Barnett formula. I hope that they will prioritise health, including dentistry, and undo some of the damage that they themselves have done to dentistry in Scotland.

Not addressed: Did not address the unacceptability or share learning; instead shifted focus to Scottish Government responsibilities and funding.

How: Shifted Subject To Scottish Government'S Role

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Q4 Dan Aldridge Lab Weston-super-Mare
NHS
Context

The MP highlighted that 37% of five-year-olds in Weston-super-Mare have enamel or dental decay, well above the national average. He emphasized regular dentist check-ups as essential for good oral health.

Question

Some 37% of five-year-olds in Weston-super-Mare have enamel or dental decay—a figure well above the national average. The Better Health North Somerset team does amazing work to promote good oral health, but regular dentist check-ups are the oral health silver bullet. Will the Minister explain and outline the work he is doing to ensure that children in Weston and Worle and across the country get the dentistry service that they so desperately need?

Answer from Stephen Kinnock

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this vital issue. Prevention is of course always better than cure, so I am very proud of the fact that we are introducing supervised toothbrushing for three to five-year-olds in the most deprived communities and where there is the most unmet need. We are also working to sort out the NHS contracts so we can ensure that children get the care they need.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not directly address high levels of dental decay among five-year-olds; instead focused on preventative measures and contract reform.

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Q5 James Wild Con North West Norfolk
NHS
Context

The MP asked about training locally at the University of East Anglia and questioned how to speed up the process for dentists to get on the dental performers list.

Question

Having training locally at the University of East Anglia is important for my constituents, but in the short term, what steps is the Minister taking to speed up the process by which dentists get on the dental performers list, so that they can work in the NHS and not just privately? Is he also considering bringing in a provisional overseas registration scheme?

Answer from Stephen Kinnock

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. We are looking at provisional registration. As I also mentioned to his hon. Friend the Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew), we are very open to the idea of a dental training school at the University of East Anglia. We need to ensure that we push on the full spectrum of all these measures, because there is a crisis in NHS dentistry and we need to get on and fix it.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify steps for expediting registration or confirm provisional overseas registration scheme; instead mentioned training school idea.

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Q6 Ben Obese-Jecty Con Huntingdon
NHS
Context

The MP highlighted that 36% of patients under the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough integrated care system no longer have an NHS dentist. He suggested providing access to emergency treatment and a priority pathway for referrals from hospital departments.

Question

Toothless in Huntingdon in my constituency has written to me highlighting that 36% of patients under Cambridgeshire and Peterborough integrated care system no longer have an NHS dentist. It wants dental practices to provide access to those needing emergency treatment and a priority pathway for referrals from hospital departments such as cardiology and oncology. To that extent, what steps are being taken in Huntingdonshire to improve dental access across rural Cambridgeshire? How are the Government helping the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough integrated care system to address those issues?

Answer from Stephen Kinnock

Obviously the golden hello scheme for rural areas is very important. We are pushing forward on that, and I am pleased to say that hundreds have expressed interest in it and appointments are starting on that basis. The hon. Gentleman is right about training places. As I have already mentioned, we are very open to establishments and institutions coming forward with proposals for that. We are living in a country where the biggest cause of hospital admission for five to nine-year-olds is having their rotten teeth removed. That is a truly Dickensian state of affairs, and it needs to be fixed as a priority.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific steps or assistance details; instead emphasized broad initiatives like the golden hello scheme and training places.

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Q7 Tom Gordon Lib Dem Harrogate and Knaresborough
NHS
Context

The MP mentioned an orthodontist practice that had issues with referrals due to poor dental condition, highlighting the need for contract reform.

Question

Earlier this year, I was at an orthodontist's practice that carries out work on behalf of the NHS. It said the issue is that when people are referred to it by their general dentist, it cannot go on to do the orthodontic work because their teeth are in too bad a state, so they are referred back to the dentist, but they cannot get in because of waiting lists and issues. When we look at reforming dental contracts, will we look at orthodontic ones too?

Answer from Stephen Kinnock

Absolutely. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has said, we have already met with the British Dental Association, and no issues are off the table. We absolutely need to look at orthodontists in the round as part of the contract negotiations, and we will certainly report back on that in due course.

Answered
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