Cornwall dentist where Rishi Sunak announced recovery plan drops all adult NHS patients

The Prime Minister met staff and patients at Gentle Dental in Newquay in February as he set out the plans.

A dental practice which was visited by Rishi Sunak on the day he announced his dentistry recovery plan has now dropped all of its NHS adult patients.

The prime minister met staff and patients at Gentle Dental in Newquay in February as he set out plans to introduce millions more NHS appointments for patients across the country.

At that time, the practice was already no longer accepting new NHS patients over the age of 18, but it has now emerged that all existing adult patients are being removed.

The British Dental Association (BDA) said the government created a "wholly inadequate" recovery plan for the sector, adding that the scheme was "unworthy" of its title.

Rishi Sunak had said the government is "determined to fix the issues” with NHS dentistry. Credit: PA

Rishi Sunak had said that 500 practices are now seeing adult NHS patients off the back of his reforms, according to the BDA. However, the organisation says it spoke to 100 of these, and only 10% of them are seeing NHS patients.  

The association believes that the government has ‘changed the definition of access’ to NHS to dentistry to reach its statistics.

It said that practices are now being asked if they are ‘accepting new NHS patients when availability allows’ rather than being asked if they are actively accepting them.

This, according to the BDA, gives patients ‘false hope’.

Chair of the BDA, Eddie Crouch, said: “The government’s so-called ‘Recovery Plan’ has been a bad joke from the outset, and this appears to be the punchline.

“The lesson here for all parties is that spin is no substitute for meaningful reform.”

The Conservative Party's dental recovery package includes cash incentives for dentists who take on new patients and 'golden hellos' for those who choose to work in communities with a lack of NHS dental services.

Around a million people who have not seen a dentist for two or more years were also set to benefit from a “new patient payment” of £15 to £50.

Other measures announced include an advice programme for new parents and the rollout of so-called “dental vans” in rural and coastal communities.

Speaking after it emerged that the Cornish dental practice is no longer accepting adult NHS patients, Wes Streeting, Shadow Health Secretary, said: “This proves that what’s left of NHS dentistry will die out if Rishi Sunak gets another five years in office. “The choice at this election is Labour’s plan to rescue and rebuild NHS dentistry, or the Conservatives’ plan to kill it off.

"Vote for the NHS next week, by voting for change with Labour.”

The Labour party has pledged to introduce an extra 700,000 urgent and emergency dental appointments each year as well as introduce 'golden hellos' for those who spend at least three years working in underserved areas.

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