Chloe Keeps The Pressure On For Dental Improvements Locally

Rt Hon Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North, has got further assurances from Health ministers as part of her campaign to tackle the dental desert that means constituents can’t get care for their teeth.

 

Her latest wave of dentistry questions to ministers highlights the ongoing difficulties constituents are experiencing with trying to access NHS dentistry.

 

Chloe recently quizzed the Health Minister on how he plans to improve access to NHS dentists in her Norwich North constituency and, reflecting constituent's frustrations with ringing-around dental practices to try an obtain an appointment - how he will ensure the accuracy of the online dental listings on the NHS website.

 

Responding to Chloe's question, the minister for health indicated that a new requirement for dentists is to update information about appointment availability at NHS.UK at least every 90 days. Compliance will be monitored on the number of dentists updating this availability quarterly through NHS dental contracts.

 

Chloe comments: 

 

"People need to know if they can get an appointment, so the updated information will be helpful.  But overall constituents deserve so much better.  I will keep speaking up for north Norwich residents who need NHS dentists’ appointments.”

 

Chloe also welcomed the Government's announcement this week, that it had made adjustments to dental contracts which are designed to make it more financially viable for NHS dentists to undertake complex cases such as multiple fillings for a patient.  She added:  "These changes are a step in the right direction but they must be followed-through, and there is more to do to ensure that more dentists are working in Norwich.”

 

Gathering continuous feedback from constituents helps Chloe understand if the situation is changing - her survey for constituents to capture their experiences with accessing dental appointments is currently live at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/32KSWHN.

 

You can keep up to date with Chloe's health campaigning at: https://www.chloesmith.org.uk/local/news