Government Reforms Leave Thousands of Cornish Patients without an NHS Dentist

6.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 4th Jul 2008

Cornwall's five Liberal Democrat MP's have today criticised the Government for failing dental patients across Cornwall after they obtained figures which show that 7,905 fewer patients have been seen by an NHS dentist since the Government introduced reforms which were designed to improve access to dentistry.

The Government introduced a new contract for dentists in April 2006 following the passing of the Health and Social Care Act 2003. At the time of the Act the former Health Minister John Denham MP claimed that it was "the biggest shake-up of dentistry since the NHS was established in 1945" and that "it is not about providing a covert mechanism for rationing. It is about widening access to NHS dental services". On Wednesday, however, the Commons Health Select Committee released a report that found that the new contract had lead to a fall in the number of patients treated by the NHS and that access to treatment remained "patchy" in many areas.

Following the report Cornwall's MP's have obtained figures from the South West Strategic Health Authority which show that in the 24 months before the contract came into force in April 2006, 277,255 patients were seen by an NHS dentist in Cornwall which represents a little over half of Cornwall's population. However, in the 24 months up to December 2007 only 269,350 patients were seen, a drop of 7,905. Currently there is only one surgery in Cornwall accepting new NHS patients from across the county and only two which will accept new patients within their local catchment areas.

Commenting Colin Breed, MP for South East Cornwall, said:

"While the NHS celebrates its 60th birthday, there will be little cheer from those in Cornwall who are desperate to find a dentist. For there to be only one surgery in the whole of the County that is accepting new NHS patients shows how badly the Government's reforms have failed. This is supposed to be a health service for all, not for those lucky enough to stumble upon the Holy Grail of a surgery accepting new patients."