Outraged Wimbledon residents are up in arms over the Labour Party’s toothless policies regarding NHS dentists.
By Vicky Beckett, Walaa Khubieh, Andrew Knight, Chris Madden and Robin Woolley
OUTRAGED Wimbledon residents are up in arms over the Labour Party’s toothless policies regarding NHS dentists.
The Liberal Democrats have criticised the Government’s reforms as a third of residents struggle to find a practice.
Some patients have to wait over a month to register and be seen by a dentist, even for a simple check-up. The Liberal Democrats believe the long waiting lists are due to the huge shortage of dentists.
Wimbledon parliamentary candidate Shas Sheehan said: “At the moment the problem is there are too many people being turned away from free dental care.
“The reforms the Labour Party made were counter-productive.”
As fees were rounded up into bands, dentists were forced to become privatised to meet surgery running costs.
Wimbledon resident Hamish Williams is one of many who have struggled to find an NHS dentist.
“When I moved here two years ago, it took me over seven months to find an NHS dentist that would take me on,” he said.
“Even now, I sometimes have to wait more than six weeks for an appointment for a check-up.”
Mr Williams would like to see more advice for new residents to help them locate a dentist with free space.
Sinead Williams, Wimbledon’s Augustus Road Dental Practice Manager, said: “There are times when I have to send patients away because I just don’t have the time and space to allocate them.
“We are on about 20 to 30 new patients monthly on the NHS and that is simply because they are absolutely desperate for an NHS dentist.”
Across England, less than half the adult population went to a dentist on the NHS in the past two years.
The Tories have promised that if they win the upcoming General Election a million more people will be able to see an NHS dentist.
Whilst these arguments continue, residents are left grinding their teeth over the lack of progress.
