| Subject |
New
Government contracts will slash numbers of NHS dentists
|
| Ref |
PR/06-124 |
| Date |
Friday
31st March 2006 |
Tobias has raised
concerns about the lack of NHS dentists in Bournemouth following the
Government's admission that the number of NHS dentists has increased
by just 10 since 1997 while the population has increased by over five
thousand.
A new Government
dental contract will come into effect on 1st April creating a charging
regime which will lead to an increase in cost for basic check ups.
Dentists are complaining that instead of enabling them to do more
preventative work, the contracts will make it still harder to provide
an efficient NHS service.
Failure by this
Government to properly invest in dentistry has led to around one
in five dentists planning to leave for the private sector. Between
1997 and 2004 there was an 11% decline in the number of people in
Bournemouth registered with an NHS Dentist.
Tobias said:
"More and
more constituents are complaining of the problems getting a dentist
in Bournemouth. My investigations revealed only three dentists were
taking NHS patients, one of which would not see me until July. Although
there were two practices registering new NHS patients now, both
were on the Triangle. It's concerning that there are so few NHS
places available and they are all in one area of the town.
I am amazed
that the government have persisted with these new measures, despite
the fact that the new system will clearly leave more people unable
to access NHS dental treatment. This is a retrograde step that will
work to the detriment of both the taxpayer and NHS dental practitioners."
|
