The lack of NHS dental services remains a real problem for many locally.
I’ve been pressing ministers and local health bosses for months to increase appointments — and I have some progress to report.
First, we are getting more appointments. Some 45,000 extra "units of dental activity" have been allocated for Andover and Basingstoke and Deane.
These so-called units are a way of measuring the amount of NHS dental work a dentist does — and are used by the NHS to count and pay for treatments.
In plain English, this means more NHS check-ups, fillings, and treatments available locally.
Second, I have been informed by NHS Hampshire that extra urgent treatment sessions have been agreed locally for certain people such as cardiac and cancer patients, care home residents, expectant mothers, and armed forces family members.
This is promising news that will mean more NHS appointments.
My job now is to make sure our practices in NW Hants get their fair share of these appointments.
I’m also pushing for the return of the mobile dental van to Andover.
When it was in our town centre last year, it helped people who otherwise struggled to access treatment.
Ultimately, everyone who needs an NHS dentist in NW Hants should be able to get one — but we are not there yet.
We need continued government investment into dental services, especially the financial incentives brought in by the previous Conservative government for dentists who take on NHS patients.
And we need a stronger emphasis on prevention — starting with children learning to brush properly by the time they reach primary school.
I’ll keep pushing for more appointments locally, and I’ll keep you updated.
Kit Malthouse
MP for North West Hampshire
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