Plymouth councillors criticise slow response to dental ‘crisis’
Councillors in Plymouth have criticised representatives from NHS England over the speed of the response to a dental ‘crisis’ in the city.
One senior Labour councillor accused NHS England of trying to “paper over the cracks” and said that patients had been “let down” by an ineffective system. Councillors heard that funding has not been used due to dentists being unable to provide treatment and suggested that NHS England is not working hard enough to improve access and enable more patients to benefit from NHS dental services.
In response to the comments from Plymouth councillors, a spokesperson for NHS England South West confirmed that the trust was working on a reform programme, which would help to increase capacity and provide more dental appointments. The programme will be drawn up this summer and further details will be released as and when they become available.
A council report, which was published in December 2020, indicated that there was a dental ‘crisis’ in the city, with thousands unable to see a dentist. Deprived parts of the city were worst-affected. Statistics showed that children in Plymouth were four times more likely to need teeth extracting than children in other parts of the South West.
The latest update estimates that there are currently 16,000 people on waiting lists to see a dentist. This figure represents an increase of 2,000 from October 2019. The council is worried that despite money being available, nothing has changed since 2019 and the pandemic is likely to make the situation worse.
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