New services and overseas dentists among plans as Lincolnshire health body looks to improve service in Spalding area

Helping more people get access to dentists is a ‘top priority’, a health body has said.

Commissioning new ‘urgent’ NHS dental care services and plans to bring overseas dentists to the area are among work currently going on behind the scenes.

Last year this paper revealed there were just ten NHS dentists operating across South Holland, which led MP Sir John Hayes to claim there was a ‘crisis in NHS dental provisions’.

However, it is hoped services can be expanded.

“Reform of the dental contract nationally (announced July 2022) is ongoing and in Lincolnshire we launched the three-year Lincolnshire Dental Strategy earlier this year, which focusses on workforce, access, prevention, and integration between health services,” a statement by the NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board said.

“Progress to date includes establishing links with overseas dentists and supporting the process for them to work in the UK, and commissioning new urgent NHS dental care services on the east coast of the county.

“In addition, we are working hard with NHS colleagues across the East Midlands, as well as working collaboratively with a range of stakeholders including our local Health Overview Scrutiny Committee, and local MPs to influence change.”

Accessing a dentist became even harder due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the backlog of patients balloon.

“We are also undertaking a number of programmes of work to support dental access within the county, including South Holland and the Deepings, focused on utilisation of a number of patient-facing access initiatives - particularly those to increase access for patients – as well as prevention work with Public Health colleagues, work with Public Health consultants to undertake an oral health needs assessment refresh to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on dentistry, and work to address access in areas with high levels of deprivation and poor access,” the statement continued.

Making matters more frustrating for residents is the fact that a purpose built dentistry suite at the Johnson Hospital remains empty and unused.

Addressing this, the statement added: “With regards to the vacant suite at the Johnson Hospital, we are currently working on identifying the health needs for the population of Spalding, including dentistry needs, which will cover all aspects of the healthcare for the local population.”

Sir John, MP for South Holland and the Deepings, told this paper he is ‘passionate’ about improving dental services in the area.

Last month he wrote to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, to ask ‘what estimate he has made of the number of dentists who have left the profession since 2013’.

A response from Parliamentary under-secretary Neil O’Brien reported that ‘5,554 dentists were removed from the register between 2019 and 2022’ and that data was not held for between 2013 and 2018.