Davey hopes to solve NHS dentistry crisis

URGENT reform is needed to end the “appalling situation” in NHS dentistry, the Liberal Democrats have said.

The party has announced a dental rescue plan, worth £750 million each year, which aims to give more patients access to care, ensure free check-ups for children and to prevent the “exodus” of NHS dentists. It said this would increase NHS dentistry funding in England by around a quarter.

The plan also aims to ensure access to an NHS dentist for everyone needing urgent and emergency care. The Liberal Democrats said that the money would be used to help to reform the NHS dental contract, which has been a subject of contention among dentists.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “Across the country, millions of people are going without basic dental care, with many even turning to pulling their own teeth out due to the lack of services. It is an utterly appalling situation that has to be brought to an end.

“The Conservative government has pushed dentistry to the brink and it is children and parents who are paying the price of their neglect.

“Years of this Conservative government kicking the can down the road is creating an exodus of dentists from the NHS.

“The Liberal Democrats have an ambitious plan to fix the dental contract and tackle the crisis in dental care. Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to get rid of this appalling Conservative government and fix the NHS and care.”

Commenting on the announcement, Shawn Charlwood, chairman of the British Dental Association’s general dental practice committee, said: “For a generation, NHS dentistry has experienced savage cuts with no precedent.

“Starved of funds, and often paying for NHS treatments out of their own pocket, a growing number of dentists are walking away.

“Saving this service will require wholesale reform, underpinned by sustainable funding.”

Sir Ed Davey