Michael is aware that many constituents are experiencing great difficulty accessing dental care as they have been unable to find dentists in Surrey Heath or nearby that are accepting new NHS patients. On 18 February 2022, Michael wrote to the Health Secretary to raise concerns about access to NHS dental care for his constituents.
The Health Secretary responded on 9 March 2022 to explain that an additional £50 million in funding for NHS dentistry was being made available for the remainder of the 2021/22 financial year to give more patients access to dental care, and that the South East was allocated £6,887,000 of that funding.
On 18 March 2022 and again on 20 July 2022, Michael wrote to Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of NHS England, to ask how much of the additional funding has been allocated to Surrey Heath and for information on any work that is taking place with local providers in Surrey Heath to improve access to dental care for his constituents.
Michael received a response on 9 August 2022 from Fiona Edwards, Chief Executive of NHS Frimley, which is attached below.
Ms Edwards explained that should any patient need urgent dental care, or they have been able to access temporary urgent care and still require further treatment to stabilise their oral health, be a Looked After Child or need dental treatment before undergoing certain medical or surgical procedures, they will be able to contact one of the following practices to obtain treatment:
• Moonlight Dental Surgery, Slough, Berkshire, Tel: 01753 526301
• SC Dental Studio, Slough, Berkshire, Tel: 01753 550888
• Sunbury Dental Practice, Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, TW16 6QL, Tel: 01932 783208
• Parkside Dental Surgery, Woking, Surrey, GU21 3LQ, Tel: 01483 766355
• Cromwell Dental Practice, Walton On Thames, Surrey KT12 3NL, Tel: 01932 269199