Bristol residents have come together to protest the closure of Bupa Dental Care in St Pauls. The practice is set to close on June 30 and will result in thousands of patients left without access to dental care.
The protestors informed Bristol Live that they had contacted their local Integrated Care Board (ICB), but many patients said they have not been offered an alternative practice which accepts NHS patients.
The campaign has received support from former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. He met with campaigners at the Malcolm X Centre to join the protest.
Following the event, Jeremy said, “It’s a pleasure while I’ve been here to support the Ashley Road Dentistry campaign, there are dentists working there who want to work there, be part of the NHS. But instead, there’s a danger with that practice closing that they’ll be no NHS dentists available for people in the area.
“Dentistry is really dropping off of the NHS completely; it was the first thing to be charged for in the NHS. Charges were introduced in [1951 for dentures] and optical tests because the government wanted to spend money on going to war in Korea.
“We now have a terrible situation with wholesale privatisation of services within the NHS and the NHS is spending more and more money on private doctors, private healthcare and private services. What we need is a publicly owned, publicly funded, publicly run NHS and a national care service so that people get properly cared for. So let's win on dentistry on Ashley Road and win on the NHS.”
Thangam Debbonaire, Labour MP for Bristol West and shadow leader of the House of Commons, has spoken to local providers to attempt to make additional emergency appointments available. Bristol Live also reported that she has contacted Steve Barclay, the health secretary, and urged him to intervene.
Thangam said, “Under the Tories, net government spend on general dental practices has been cut by over a third. As a result, there appear to be no dentists in Bristol West accepting new NHS patients.
“With respect to the clinic in St Paul’s, I was informed that the process is underway to find a new service provider for the site. I’ve spoken with local health leaders and was pleased to learn additional emergency appointments are also being made available to help those without an NHS dentist.
“This is clearly not a long-term solution. The real problem lies with the government. I’ve therefore raised my concerns directly with the Health Secretary and urged him to intervene and address the crisis in Bristol’s dental services.
“The next Labour government will secure the future of NHS dentistry, providing the staff, equipment and modern technology needed to ensure patients get the treatment they need.”