Cancer patient who campaigned for free dental care criticises new SNP election manifesto
A cancer patient who campaigned for free dental care for cancer sufferers has criticised the Scottish National Party manifesto after the party repeatedly ignored her petition.
Mags Devlin, 63, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. After starting treatment, Mags found that her dental health deteriorated rapidly and she ended up having teeth removed. She was unaware of the dental effects of chemotherapy and said that many other people were in the same boat. At a time when patients are struggling to cope with their diagnosis and the other side-effects caused by treatments, the last thing people need is to be worrying about paying dental bills.
Mags decided to use her experience to try and get support for other cancer patients and she launched a petition to campaign for free dental care for patients undergoing cancer treatment. Although Mags’ petition was supported by Labour MP, Monica Lennon, Mags said that the SNP repeatedly ignored her calls for support. Now, the party has announced plans to scrap dental fees in a new election manifesto.
Mags is delighted that patients in Scotland will be able to access free dental treatment under the new proposals, but she accused the SNP of ignoring her and said that the promise was an “electioneering gimmick” designed to attract votes. Mags had been campaigning for several months, yet her pleas fell on deaf ears and there was no mention of her efforts when revealing plans to abolish fees. Instead, Mags said, the party passed off the idea as an “SNP initiative.”
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