Home   News   Article

Subscribe Now

Stratford demands more NHS dentists as another practice looks to go private




THE fight for more NHS dentists is being taken to the government after another practice told its patients they would need to start paying for private care.

Pennington Dental arrived in Stratford 15 years ago proudly advertising its role as a provider of NHS care, but it has now put a stop to this service, even for existing NHS patients.

This means that the Stratford district is now a virtually NHS-free zone for dentistry, with none taking on new NHS patients. Some, though – such as Mydentist in Tiddington Road, Stratford – say they’re continuing to offer the service to those already on their books.

There is also a suggestion – reported by dental patients to Stratford MP Manuela Perteghella – that some practices are refusing to offer children NHS dentistry if their parents (those formerly with the NHS) refuse to go private.

In another bizarre twist to the dental crisis it’s reported that NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) underspent its dental budget by £3.5 million in 2022-23.

Three weeks ago Ms Perteghella wrote to Danielle Oum, chair of the ICB, asking her to confirm that this was the case, as revealed by the NHS Business Services Authority (which describes itself as an arm’s length body of the Department of Health and Social Care). She’s still awaiting a reply.

Two of Pennington’s patients contacted the Herald to complain about the practice’s decision to axe its NHS provision.

Manuela Perteghella MP.
Manuela Perteghella MP.

One of them, 68-year-old retired funeral director Rob Tierney, said he’d received NHS dentistry for the past 43 years, the last 15 of them with Pennington.

He said: “This is discrimination against pensioners and people on benefits. They’re being thrown to the wolves.”

Rob said that when Pennington came to Stratford 15 years ago it was “crying out for NHS patients”. Now they were being cast aside.

He said he had no intention of going private. “For an examination you’re looking at £80 to £100 and £150 for a filling,” he said.

Another Pennington patient, Elle Davis, who is married with three children, aged 17, 20 and 22, told the Herald: “I have no choice but to go private. It’s a bit of a ‘rock and hard place’ situation.”

But she added: “I’m going to shop around. I’m not sure I’ll stay with Pennington.” And in a not entirely intentional pun she declared: “It leaves a bit of a nasty taste in your mouth.”

Elle added: “At the end of the day I understand the pressures the NHS is under, and dentists feel they don’t get a fair deal with NHS patients. If it was just me it wouldn’t matter too much, but I have three children to consider as well.”

She said both she and her husband had jobs and were in the “middle-income bracket”. But she added: “It’s going to be expensive. What do I do? How will I afford it? It’s a money-making exercise. It’s very much about money-making. It’s a business, and I understand that.”

But, directly addressing Pennington Dental, she added: “You can stop taking on new NHS patients, but don’t abandon the old ones.”

The crisis in dentistry in the Stratford district was addressed by Ms Perteghella in a Commons debate last October. She told MPs and ministers: “Access to NHS dentistry is deeply affecting my constituents in Stratford-on-Avon, with many communities facing what can only be described as dental deserts.

“We have seen dentists leaving NHS services in recent months, leaving residents with limited options. In some cases my constituents are waiting months for an appointment, are forced to travel significant distances to see an NHS dentist or, worse, are told that they must pay privately or go without.

“Some have resorted to emergency care, and others have even attempted DIY interventions.”

Ms Perteghella added: “The lack of access to NHS dental appointments can have serious long-term health implications. Dentists can detect conditions such as oral cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis during routine appointments.

“We have heard that across the country 4.4 million children have not seen an NHS dentist in the past year, which is shameful.”

In her letter to the ICB querying the report of an underspend of £3.5m of its dental budget, Ms Perteghella wrote: “Given the acute challenges with access to NHS dentistry across our region and in Warwickshire in particular, I am sure you will agree that it is vital to ensure that all allocated funding is used to improve oral health outcomes for local residents.”

After asking for an explanation of how the money that had been “clawed back” had been utilised over the past two financial years, Ms Perteghella wrote: “As I’m sure you know, patients in Warwickshire continue to face severe dental access challenges. Just 46 per cent of adults have been seen by an NHS dentist in the last two years. This is seven percentage points lower than levels recorded in 2019.

“Shockingly, roughly 18 per cent of children in Warwickshire have dental caries [tooth decay] by the time they are five years old – reflecting the poor access to NHS dental services in our area.”

Last Friday Ms Perteghella spoke to former Pennington NHS patient Mr Tierney. She told him that other constituents had reported that some dentists were refusing to provide NHS dentistry to children if their parents didn’t go private.

Regarding this allegation, and the general position of dentists abandoning NHS provision, Ms Perteghella told the Herald: “It feels very wrong. I think it is unacceptable. We cannot have children ending up in A&E.

“If you can’t go private you should be able to get access to NHS dentistry. It isn’t on. It’s unacceptable.”

Ms Perteghella said she would be contacting Pennington to ask for an explanation of the practice’s decision to abandon NHS provision. Once she had done this should be raising the issue with Wes Streeting, the health secretary.

The Herald tried three times to get a comment from Pennington, but there was no response from the practice. We have also asked the ICB to confirm the underspend of £3.5m. We are still awaiting a reply.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More