AN END to the region’s dental care crisis could be in sight after MP Tim Farron secured a commitment from the Government to roll out a new NHS contract to Cumbria.
During a debate he secured in Parliament yesterday, Wednesday, Mr Farron said the situation had reached breaking point with over half of all adults in Cumbria unable to see an NHS dentist in the past two years, whilst over 1 in 3 children in the county currently do not have a place with an NHS dentist.
“The current system is unjust, not fit for patients, not fit for dentists and not fit for purpose,” Mr Farron told MPs.
In response, the health minister Seema Kennedy said that the Government was working closely with NHS England to reform the dental contract and said she was “hopeful” the rollout of a new contract - which is currently being piloted by over 100 NHS practices - will happen “as soon as possible.”
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