Labour candidate for Portsmouth South Stephen Morgan has said the General Election is the last chance to stop the rot and save NHS dentistry from the Conservatives’ plan to introduce an insurance system.
New figures from the NHS reveal that Hampshire and Isle Of Wight ICB performed the equivalent of 500 thousand fewer check-ups and 500 thousand fewer fillings than promised last year.
The NHS missed its targets for check-ups and fillings in every part of the country, except North London.
Weeks before the election was called, the Conservatives’ Dentistry Minister, Andrea Leadsom, proposed replacing NHS dentistry with an insurance system, where families would face paying £240 a year to be eligible.
Mr Morgan has spent time on the frontline in our city’s health and social care services to hear first-hand the impact of the crisis in NHS dentistry and the dental desert Portsmouth has become.
The Labour candidate has secured more dental appointments for Portsmouth people and helped secure dental academy in our city to train the future NHS workforce.
He has launched his own dental survey to hear concerns which you can fill out here: https://www.stephenmorgan.org.uk/dentist/
Labour’s Dentistry Rescue Plan will:
- Fill the gap of appointments with an extra 700,000 urgent and emergency dental appointments a year
- Flood dental deserts with new dentistry graduates, with golden hellos of £20,000 for those who spend at least three years working in underserved areas
- Supervised toothbrushing for 3-5 year-olds, to prevent children forced to hospital to have their rotting teeth pulled out
- Reform of the dental contract, to rebuild NHS dentistry and make sure everyone who needs a dentist can get one.
Research from Labour earlier this year revealed that 8 in 10 dentists had shut their doors to new NHS patients. While polling from YouGov has found that one in every ten people have attempted DIY dentistry, including some pulling their own teeth out with pliers. The Conservative candidate for Nottingham East, an Iraq war veteran, admitted during the election campaign that he waited eight years for an NHS dentist, before going private.
Commenting, Labour candidate for Portsmouth South, Stephen Morgan said:
“I have long campaigned to improve NHS dentistry services in Portsmouth and secured more dental appointments for Portsmouth people and helped secure dental academy in our city to train the future NHS workforce.
“However, under the Conservatives NHS dentistry is being hollowed out and far too many Portsmouth people can’t get an appointment.
“At this election only Labour has a plan to rescue NHS dentistry, and reform it for the long run including by funding 700,000 extra urgent appointments a year.”
Wes Streeting, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said:
“It’s virtually impossible to get a dentist appointment after 14 years of Conservative neglect. People are resorting to pulling their own teeth out- DIY dentistry should be the stuff of Charles Dickens’ books, not Britain in 2024.
“The Conservatives have taken NHS dentistry to death’s door and given another five years in charge, they will kill it off. We already pay taxes for the NHS, but the Conservatives want to charge families an extra £240 a year. If you want to stop the Conservatives’ double dentistry tax under an insurance system, then vote for change with Labour.
“Labour’s Dentistry Rescue Plan will provide 700,000 extra dentistry appointments straight away, and start rebuilding NHS dentistry for the future. The only way to stop the rot and save NHS dentistry is to vote for change with Labour.”
Labour’s Dental Rescue Plan has been backed by experts including Chris Groombridge, Chair of the charity Teeth Team, Eddie Crouch, Chair of the British Dental Association and Professor Claire Stevens CBE, Spokesperson for the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry.
Professor Claire Stevens CBE, Spokesperson for the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry, said:
“NHS dentistry in this country is in crisis. Children, especially those from deprived backgrounds, are our nation’s most vulnerable. Therefore, as a matter of urgency, a serious recovery plan for children’s dentistry is needed – with an overhaul of the NHS dental contract being a core part.
“We welcome the Labour Party’s commitments, in particular a targeted supervised toothbrushing scheme for 3-5 year-olds, which is a tried and tested way of tackling tooth decay in children.
“The immediate crisis needs to be gripped as a priority – to set NHS dentistry on the path to recovery.”
