Leeds: Refugee 'considered return to Ukraine' for dental treatment

The refugee was in chronic pain and unable to see a dentist, a Leeds councillor said

Getty Images Image of a dentist at work — The refugee was in chronic pain and unable to see a dentist, a Leeds councillor said

A refugee considered returning to Ukraine for dental treatment after she was unable to get an appointment in Leeds, according to a councillor.

The woman, who is hosted by a family in the city, was in "chronic pain", said Liberal Democrat Stewart Golton.

BBC research shows no dental practice in Leeds is accepting new patients.

The Department of Health said it had made an extra £50m available "to help bust the Covid backlogs" and that improving NHS access was a priority.

Mr Golton, who leads the Lib Dem group at Leeds City Council, said he was able to find a private dentist who was willing to treat the woman for free so she would not risk travelling back to Ukraine.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the woman had "seriously considered returning home" for dental work.

He said she had reached that point after "travelling to emergency dentists on the other side of Yorkshire and facing a five-year wait on the NHS Dentist list".

Calling for a health minister to visit Leeds to speak to patients and dentists, he said: "I felt embarrassed that a significantly wealthier country such as ours has a worse functioning dental service than an ex-Communist state.

"Overall, this was literally a painful example of how far the neglect of NHS dentistry has gone."