00:00In North Shields here, a petition is gaining momentum, a call to protect NHS dental care that now has over 550 signatures.
00:09It follows a controversial move by Verner Road Dental Practice, which announced it will no longer take on new NHS patients.
00:16In a letter to patients, the practice stated it would continue to honour a small NHS contract, prioritising children and vulnerable adults,
00:24but only until such a time that we are no longer able to do so, it said.
00:30For everyone else, care will only be available on a private fee-paying basis.
00:34The reason behind this is due to a combination of funding shortfalls, rising material costs and critical staff shortages.
00:41Now, a change.org petition launched by local resident Stephanie Turnbull is calling not just for local action, but for urgent national intervention.
00:50It warns of a slow drift towards privatisation that risks making essential dental care unaffordable for many,
00:56and therefore undermining the pounding principle of NHS.
01:00In 2024, a Mirror investigation found that 73% of dental practices in the UK weren't accepting new adult NHS patients.
01:09In some constituencies, there were no NHS dentists taking patients at all.
01:13David Gallagher, Chief Procurement and Contracting Officer for the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board,
01:19says the situation is being taken seriously, but also highlights the limits of their powers.
01:25Dental providers are independent contractors and cannot be forced to take on more NHS work than they're contracted for.
01:32Still, the ICB is working to improve access, opening new urgent dental access centres, expanding out-of-hours appointments,
01:40and urging providers to take on more NHS patients where they can.
01:44Dental providers to take on more NHS patients in the UK,
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