Waveney Valley MP says he''ll raise awareness about lack of local dentists

The 43 year-old, who's from Norwich, won the recently created seat in July, after getting 20,467 votes and securing over 41% of the vote

Author: Tom ClabonPublished 7th Sep 2024

The MP for Waveney Valley and co-leader of the Green Party says he'll be highlighting the lack of dentists in the local area- now Parliament's back from it's summer break.

Adrian Ramsay tells us this has come after he spent the summer speaking to his constituents to find out what issues are concerning them the most.

The 43 year-old, who's from Norwich, won the recently created seat in July, after getting 20,467 votes and securing over 41% of the vote

"Ultimately it will come down to whether the Government listens"

Adrian says MP's in Suffolk and Norfolk work together to tackle the issues:

"I'm keen to work with other MPs wherever there's those who I can agree with on this issue and other ones. But ultimately it will come down to whether the Government listens and is willing to do things like amend the dental contract.

"It's about putting the big issues on the agenda and bringing up the evidence, in Parliament. But then it's also about meeting with health bodies and Government representatives, to press for the root causes behind these issues to be addressed. As it is going to be centred around things like getting more funding".

What has the Government said on this?

Labour's 2024 manifesto featured their 'Dentistry Rescue Plan', which featured plans to:

-Fill the gap of appointments with an extra 700,000 urgent and emergency dental appointments a year

-Flood dental deserts with new dentistry graduates, with golden hellos of £20,000 for those who spend at least three years working in underserved areas

-Supervised toothbrushing for 3- to 5-year-olds, to prevent children forced to hospital to have their rotting teeth pulled out

-Reform of the dental contract, to rebuild NHS dentistry and make sure everyone who needs a dentist can get one.

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