Banbury care home manager challenges the health secretary over access to NHS dental services for patients
The manager of a care home in Banbury has challenged the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to try and find a dentist willing to provide services for patients after struggling to track down a local dentist to visit the home.
Paula Munday, the manager of Cheney House Care Home, has appealed to Mr Hunt to help out after unsuccessfully trying to find local dentists who would be willing to visit elderly patients at the home on a regular basis. Ms Munday said that she has contacted several dentists in the region, but none have accepted her offer. One private dentist based in London did agree to regular visits, however, they quoted a price of £500 for two hours as well as travel expenses.
As well as reaching out to Mr Hunt, Ms Munday has also written to Andrea Leadsom, the MP for Northamptonshire South, to voice her concerns over the issue. In the correspondence, Ms Munday wrote that she was finding it virtually impossible to locate a dentist in the region who could provide care for the patients, many of whom suffer from dementia. Staff at the home want to ensure residents have access to the services they need, but it’s proving difficult to find dentists who are willing to offer this service. Hairdressers, physiotherapists, chiropodists and doctors visit on a regular basis, but Ms Munday believes that many dentists lack knowledge about dementia and she thinks this may be a reason for the rejections.
Andrea Leadsom confirmed that she has contacted Jeremy Hunt about the situation.
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