NHS dentist shortage 'leaving patients stranded'

An MP says his constituents are being "left stranded" when it comes to finding an NHS dentist.

In 2022, a BBC investigation found the south-west of England was the joint worst place in the country for an adult to find an NHS dentist.

For children, this area is the worst - with 95% of NHS practices unable to take them on.

The Department of Health previously said improving NHS access was a priority.

Labour's Darren Jones, who represents Bristol North West, has raised the issue in the House of Commons.

"It is not necessarily because they are greedy, it is just because the national NHS contract does not allow them to see as many NHS patients as they might want to," Mr Jones said.

The NHS contract means dentists get paid for a certain number of patients, but this number is restricted.

"That has left many families to rely on private services, which are often expensive," Mr Jones added.

Samuel Labib, a dentist at Hanham Dental, said: "At the moment, any private work we do ends up subsidising all the NHS work we do because it runs at a loss.

"You cannot help everyone and you try to help everyone you can."

"Ultimately, I have a business to run, I have employees to pay and I have to keep the business going so the patients I am currently seeing do have a dentist," he added.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health previously told the BBC: "We are investing more than £3bn a year into dentistry and have already implemented additional measures to improve access."

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