NHS confirms £2 million cash injection for Shropshire and Staffordshire dental services
The NHS has confirmed a funding injection worth £2 million for dental services in Staffordshire and Shropshire.
NHS England in the North Midlands has been awarded extra funding to the value of £2.25 million. The cash boost will benefit almost 40 dental practices in the region and create new NHS places for around 30,000 patients. The NHS is particularly keen to improve access and increase uptake among young patients, and local authorities will be working with dental clinics to encourage parents to take their children for check-ups between the ages of 0 and 2. The funding injection is part of a wider national investment in preventive care for children, especially those aged under 2, and a campaign to urge parents to take their children for their first dental check by age of 1.
Head of primary care for NHS England in Staffordshire and Shropshire, Rebecca Woods, said that the news was incredibly positive and added that the additional funding would make a huge difference in the North Midlands. NHS England is working closely with local authorities, dental networks, Public Health England and dental commissioners to improve access to NHS dental care and encourage people to make use of the services that are available.
Chief dental officer for England, Sara Hurley, explained that tooth decay is an alarming issue among children, and investment in preventative measures will hopefully reduce the rate of decay and subsequent need for extraction procedures. Decay is currently the most common cause of hospital admissions in children in the UK. The latest figures show that 140 children have at least one tooth extracted in hospital every day.
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