Simon Lightwood MP launches campaign to ‘Save Wakefield’s Smiles’

Happy little boy having his teeth checked by female dentist during appointment at dental clinic.

Simon Lightwood MP writes: I was contacted by my constituent, Mr Faqirzai, whose six-year-old daughter was in significant pain, having not been able to access an NHS dentist. Her teeth were black with decay and her father was desperate for support.

I raised her shocking experiences during Prime Minister's Questions.

Thankfully, we were able to help secure this little girl a dentist. However, I know that many others are struggling to access the care they need.

The Prime Minister responded to me in writing, following my question. His reply clearly demonstrated that neither he, nor the Conservative government, are facing up to the reality of the situation.

My office conducted an anonymous survey of all NHS dental practices in the Wakefield, Horbury and Ossett. We found that, at the time of contact, no dentists were accepting new adult or child NHS patients.

Across the country, adults are finding themselves dropped from NHS lists, and increasingly going longer and longer between their regular check-ups. Over 40 million NHS dental appointments have been lost since the start of the pandemic, according to BDA estimates.

Shockingly, over half of Wakefield’s children have not seen a dentist in more than a year and 25 per cent of our five-year-olds have some tooth decay.

This is simply not good enough and accessing regular and affordable dental care should not be this hard.

This was entirely preventable. The crisis we are now in is due to 13 years of Tory mismanagement of the health service, like so many other public services in our country.

Labour will put patients first and make sure they can be seen on time. The next Labour government will secure the future of NHS dentistry, providing the staff, equipment and modern technology needed to ensure patients get the treatment they need.

In efforts to bring pressure on the government to act, I will be asking local people to join my fight to improve dental provision in Wakefield.

We are launching a petition on my website www.simonlightwood.org.uk/dentists, as well as a form for people to share their own experiences. I will also be hosting a summit of NHS dentists working in Wakefield, to hear the concerns of the workforce first-hand. All of this will inform my work on this issue locally and in Parliament.

People in Wakefield and across the country are in pain. The government needs to act.