Ben Everitt, Conservative MP for Milton Keynes North, was left embarrassed today when his own government refused to commit to providing a dental van to Milton Keynes, despite the city being labelled as a “dental desert” because of the lack of access to NHS dentists.
Today the government announced that they would be adopting some of Labour’s plans to fix the dental crisis, although they still won’t be closing the non-dom tax loophole, which Labour argues is necessary to provide a fully funded plan.
In response to the announcement, Ben Everitt asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the House of Commons if the new dental vans will be supporting in the rural areas of his constituency. The government refused to commit to the residents of MK North getting the extra support.
The news came after recent analysis revealed that 96% of dentists in Milton Keynes were not taking on new adult patients.
The collapse of NHS dentistry has left millions of patients unable to get an appointment when they need one. Recent analysis of patient survey data suggests that last year, 4.75 million people across the country were either told there were no appointments available, or the practice wasn’t taking on new patients, when they last tried to book an appointment.
Ben Everitt recently refused to vote for a motion in the House of Commons to rescue NHS dentistry, despite local patients finding it impossible to see a dentist.
The motion tabled by the Labour Party proposed:
• 700,000 more urgent dentistry appointments
• Incentives to recruit dentists to the areas most in need
• Supervised toothbrushing in schools for three- to five-year-olds
• Reform of the NHS dental contract so everyone who needs a dentist can get one
The plan would be funded by abolishing the non-dom tax status, a tax break which allows wealthy people who live and work in Britain to pay their taxes overseas.
Chris Curtis, Labour’s candidate for Milton Keynes North said:
“While it is good to see the Tories are now accepting some parts of Labour’s plan to save NHS dentistry, the latest announcements don’t go far enough.”
“Given that Milton Keynes has become a dental desert, we need an urgent commitment from the government that we will see a dental van in Milton Keynes, and we need Labour’s plan to be enacted in full. Unfortunately, our Tory MP continues to put Non-Doms before the health of his constituents.”
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