AN INVESTIGATION has found that no dentists in Wokingham are accepting new NHS patients.
The data, revealed by the BBC, shows 100% of the 12 dentistry practices in Wokingham will not take on any adult patients for treatment under the health service.
While NHS dental treatment is not free, it is subsidised with some patients able to claim the full expense after an NHS referral.
The British Dental Association (BDA) called the BBC’s investigation “the most comprehensive and granular assessment of patient access in the history of the service”.
Cllr Clive Jones, leader of Wokingham Borough Council and the Liberal Democrats prospective parliamentary candidate for Wokingham, is calling for urgent action.
“People in our area should know if they are in pain or face a health emergency that the NHS is there for them,” he said.
“Yet these scandalous figures prove NHS dentistry in Wokingham is at breaking point.
“People are being forced to spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds on private dental care with some even resorting to their own at-home DIY dentistry.”
Cllr Jones believes this is down to a lack of dentists and he would like to see reforms prioritised to tackle the issue.
He said: “We haven’t got enough dentists and it is the same problem with doctors as well.
“The fault for this lies solely with the Conservative government. They have done next to nothing to tackle this crisis.
“I demand health ministers to visit Wokingham and meet with local dentists and patients to hear just how bad things are here.
“It is high time that the NHS dentist contract was reformed and plans brought forward to recruit more local NHS dentists.”
The dentists’ union has also criticised the current NHS contract for the lack of accessible care.
Eddie Crouch. BDA chairman, said: “There doesn’t appear to be a commitment, really, from the Treasury to actually invest in [dentistry].
“Patients are having teeth removed because it’s a cheaper option than actually saving the teeth. The whole system is set up for health inequalities, and that significantly needs to change.”
The Department for Health has said it made £50 million available to “bust covid backlogs”.
NHS England said it had recently made changes to the dentistry contract aimed at supporting practices.
This includes giving high-performing practices the opportunity to increase activity and take on more patients.
NHS England said discussions on further changes were “still ongoing”.
