Local people making four hour round trips for an NHS Dentist- Norfolk MP
Figures seen by us show there's one of these practitioner for every 3,149 person in Norfolk and Waveney
A local MP tells us that some of his constituents are make four hour round-trips to see an NHS dentist
It's as figures seen by us show there's one of these practitioner for every 3,149 person in Norfolk and Waveney.
There's also growing optimism among our local Parliamentarians that a new dental school in Norwich could open later this year.
"At the moment with this there's a lot of cliff-edges involved"
Ben Goldsborough represents South Norfolk in Parliament:
"If we don't solve the existing issues around dental contracts, then we won't be able to see the places opening up as a new NHS practices or indeed private ones that offer NHS services.
"Because we are spread so thinly and widely, it means that it's very hard for a dentist under the NHS contract to actually earn a decent living.
"We need to fix this contract to be able to make sure that we can pay dentists to stay here and practice.
"At the moment with this there's a lot of cliff-edges involved. So if you treat just one patient too many then that means that, that's it you lose your NHS money.
"It's very prescriptive- when I've met with the British Dental Committee that this means they haven't got the flexibility they need".
What are the latest on this?
The University of East Anglia plans have been approved by the UK regulator, the General Dental Council.
Despite this approval, the number of undergraduate training places yet to be allocated by the Office for Students.
UEA say work is already under way on an extension to the Edith Cavell Building on the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Campus.
The ground floor will be home to UEA’s new anatomy suite and the first floor extension – supported by £1.5m from the Greater Norwich Growth Board – will form a key element of the Norwich Dental School.
Why has this been such a push for a new dental school, here?
People across Norfolk and Waveney have among the most limited dental access in England, with statistics recently revealing just one NHS dentist for every 3,149 people in the area
Figures seen by us show that the number of NHS dentists in Norfolk has hit a five year low between 2023 and 2024 with just 329 practitioners still working in the county.
Offcial data from 2024/25 showed that this increased to 331.
National workforce data given to us by Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System shows that 42 people left the profession between 2023 and 2024, with 33 joining over this period.