Portsmouth MPs call for swift action to boost dental access
MPs in Portsmouth are calling for swift action to boost dental access in the city, with hundreds of people waiting to see a dentist.
MP for Portsmouth North, Penny Mordaunt, recently met with health minister, Maria Caulfield, to ask for urgent support for local dental services. Ms Mordaunt is appealing for help on behalf of constituents who are dealing with severe pain and are unable to get an appointment with a local dentist.
Access to NHS services was already a problem in the city before the pandemic hit, but Covid-19 has exacerbated the crisis. Patients have been struggling to get dental appointments since Colosseum Dental closed three city practices without notice in 2019. Although two practices have opened to replace the clinics that closed unexpectedly, there are shortages across the area.
Ms Mordaunt has submitted a list of demands for health minsters to consider with the backing of Portsmouth’s public health director and the chief executive of the city council.
These demands include changing the dental contract to put an end to incentives, which mean that it’s often less lucrative to work in deprived areas, implementing mobile dental services, urgent work on replacing the third Colosseum Dental practice and opening a dental school at the University of Portsmouth.
The university currently provides training and education for dental technicians and could increase the number of dentists working in the South East if it was to expand to dentistry degrees. There are also calls to increase funding for dentists to prioritise the most vulnerable patients, including pregnant women and children.
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