A call has been made for improved access to dental treatment across Warrington.
At a recent Full Council meeting Cllr Paul Warburton, Cabinet Member for Statutory Health and Adult Social Care, called to improve access to dental treatment and restore access to NHS dentistry for all who need it in Warrington.
“There are a significant number of children and adults in Warrington that currently have no access to NHS dentistry.” Said Cllr Warburton.
“This number is continuing to increase as more NHS dentists are choosing to hand back their NHS contracts and become solely private providers.”
Cllr Warburton highlighted the case of a Warrington resident who no longer has a NHS dentist as his was no longer offering NHS dental care. The man was no longer listed as a patient at his usual dentist and was unable to find an NHS replacement despite trying every dentist in Warrington.
“The man desperately needed a dentist, was taking regular pain killers and was filling his own tooth every few days with temporary repair kits. He is just one lived example of the crisis of NHS dentistry in Warrington and across the country.”
“This is the consequence of fourteen years of national Tory policy, and it’s affecting lives. We are storing up problems for the future.”
He added that Healthwatch Warrington had confirmed that people across the town are struggling to find a NHS dentist, with many de-listed by dentists who are no longer treating NHS patients.
NHS dentistry cannot take place unless NHS dentists are retained, recruited, valued and appropriately rewarded – each of which need the involvement and commitment of a government with clear policy and improved funding. That opportunity has been wasted by 14 years of Tory austerity and undermining of public services.
“The current MP for Warrington South, Conservative Andy Carter, took an interest in the issue when a dentist in Appleton decided to hand back their NHS contract, leaving more than 8,000 people without access to an NHS dentist.” Said Cllr Warburton.
“Despite this, the Conservative councillor for Appleton Mark Jervis actually spoke against the motion, and the majority of his colleagues also voted against it.”
“This issue should go beyond petty politics. It is impacting residents across all of our communities.”
But Cllr Jervis responded:”Not for the first time, Labour totally misrepresented the debate that took place. I voted against the Labour motion because it made no reference to the Government’s February 2024 Dental Recovery Plan. This Plan set out measures to deliver 2.5 million additional NHS dental appointments. Labour’s proposal would only create 700,000 appointments taking the country back to square one. Furthermore, Labour-run Wales has the worst access to dentistry in the UK.”
Healthwatch Warrington state on their website that access to Dentistry, is a national issue and all information they receive is fed back to their local MP and the Primary Care team as well as Healthwatch England.
