Father Of The House’s Impassioned Plea For Dentistry
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- Published: Sunday, 27 February 2022 09:14
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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The ’Father of the House’ MP Peter Bottomley (CON, Worthing West) is the latest parliamentarian to add his weight to the growing crusade for the NHS dental crisis to be addressed, and fast.
Elected in 1975 Bottomley who has the title of Father of the house being the male MP with longest record of service in the House of Commons has been vocal in recent parliamentary debates in support of the NHS dental service. He has highlighted the failings of the contract, and in his latest post on Twitter Mr Bottomley added footage of himself addressing a House of Commons Committee where he praised the efforts of the BDA and the work of his local dentists.
Earlier this month I spoke about the crisis with access to NHS Dentists. I am grateful to our local Dentists. They know of the issues and already work hard and intensively to do what they can. For many, it is an impossible situation. This is wrong and must be solved urgently. pic.twitter.com/4umbJ0mIid
— Sir Peter Bottomley MP (@PBottomleyMP) February 22, 2022
Pushing for urgency of response Mr Bottomley cited the heavy burden on dentists of data capture for the NHSBSA and the impact of UDA limits on new patient access which “has got to change and it’s got to change fast”.
Quoting from dentists he had spoken with, the MP relayed the recruitment difficulties practice owners face and the challenge of contract reform which he said had been promised by every government since the current contract was introduced in 2006.
“Why is it that one filling attracts three UDAs, and yet five fillings and a root canal and an extraction also gets the same number of UDAs?” said Mr Bottomley.
“Getting more dentists through training and getting more people here, well qualified from overseas will be a medium-term objective”.
From the Father of the House down through the ranks, as has been reported by GDPUK and elsewhere in recent weeks, it is clear that MP’s are finally hearing the dental profession and coming to understand the dire challenges that the NHS dental service in particular faces.
Dentists and frustrated constituents are to be commended for alerting their representatives whose mailbags, they tell us, often lead on dental access concerns.
The profession is still in the dark with regard to the prescription of services, and any proposals for contract and service reform are likely to prove highly divisive as the NHS addresses the fundamental question of what kind of service it can provide for the budget allocated.
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