Covid-19 has had a profound impact on the dental sector, with practices having been forced to close last March leading to 20 million lost appointments and a 15 million-appointment backlog. This is rapidly becoming a significant problem, with mouth cancer diagnoses significantly down and major operations being pot on hold due to lack of access.
Dentists from practices in the Totnes & South Devon constituency are concerned about the targets in place which now require them to deliver 45% of their contractual NHS activity.
Speaking in a House of Commons debate on the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak on dental services, Anthony asked the Government to consider taking away the penalisation mechanism of UDAs, reimbursing the VAT costs faced by dentists on PPE, and ensuring that our dentists are treated as part of the primary healthcare network.
During his speech, Anthony said “Dentists are not asking for any more than anyone else, but they have received significantly less than many of those out there. All that we ask the Government today is to treat our dental sector with the respect that it deserves and to help it deliver for those who most need it across the whole United Kingdom.”
View Anthony’s full speech above.