I had a productive meeting with the Minister for Patient Safety and Primary Care, Maria Caulfield yesterday. Following on from my adjournment debate on dentistry, this meeting enabled me to give the Minister a further insight into my constituents’ difficulties in accessing NHS dental care, particularly for current and former military personnel and their families posted to the area.
We also discussed ways in which more dentists can be attracted to work in Lincolnshire. As many dentists work in a surgery near where they train, it makes sense to offer a dentistry school in Lincolnshire going forward and I will be speaking with Health Education England to discuss this issue further.
The Minister is also aware of the challenges posed by the current NHS dental contracts based on Units of Dental Activity (UDAs).
I would like to thank Maria for taking the time to meet with me about these crucial issues, which are particularly apparent in rural counties such as ours. I will continue to engage with the Government on this issue and press for improvements in the coming months.
