Mason Moore | Hinckley Reporter | 14 August 2022

A NEW investigation carried out by the BBC has found that no dental practices across Leicestershire were accepting any new adult NHS patients.

This comes after the BBC contacted a total of 58 dental practices in the county – all of who have NHS contracts – and none of them said that they were able to accept any new adult NHS patients.

The result of this analysis into the dentistry services has been branded “shocking” by Lib Dems in Hinckley and Bosworth, who have demanded that a Health Minister come and visit some of the county’s practices to “see how dire the situation is” first hand.

Leader of Leicestershire Liberal Democrats, Coun. Michael Mullaney, is also urging the Minister to meet with local people who have been ‘forced to wait in agony for months’ due to a lack of NHS dentist appointments.

The figures were released alongside ‘harrowing’ accounts of DIY dentistry as hard-working families and pensioners struggle to find the affordable care that they need.

The Liberal Democrats have accused the Government of “breaking” the dental system due to a lack of investment.

Coun. Michael Mullaney, responded to the figures, stating: “People in our area should know if they are in pain or face a health emergency that the NHS is there for them. Yet these scandalous figures prove NHS dentistry in Leicestershire is at breaking point.

“Our NHS dental system is broken because this Government has failed to stump up the cash. People are being forced to spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds on private dental care with some even resorting to their own at-home DIY dentistry.”

He concluded: “The fault for this lies solely with the Conservative Government. They have done next to nothing to tackle this crisis.

“Liberal Democrats are demanding a Health Minister visits our area to meet with local dentists and patients to hear just how bad things are here.”