Taylor Swift tickets easier to get than NHS dental appointments, ministers told

Taylor Swift tickets are easier to get than an NHS dental appointment, ministers have been told.

The warning came as the Government was urged to grasp the crisis in access to NHS dental care across England.

Conservative former health minister Steve Brine told the Commons there could be no further delay to the Government’s dental recovery plan, as MPs aired their concerns during a Labour-led Commons debate about constituents having to seek private care and carry out DIY dentistry.

Ashley Dalton, the Labour MP for West Lancashire, said: “It’s easier to get your hands on Taylor Swift tickets in 2024, than it is to get an NHS dental appointment.”

The American pop singer’s international Eras tour will see her visit venues across the UK this year in a series of sold out events which were hotly-contested by fans.

Speaking in the Commons, Ms Dalton also said some of her constituents have been left feeling suicidal because they cannot access dental treatment.

The Labour MP said: “Under this Government, we have arrived at a now dismal state of NHS dentistry services.

“A member of the public contacted Healthwatch Lancashire recently, reporting that they’re in so much pain that they’re now feeling suicidal.”

Tory MP Mr Brine, who chairs the Commons Health Select Committee, meanwhile urged ministers to come forward with a promised plan aimed at helping dentistry recover from the pandemic.

He said: “There is still no date for the publication of (the) dental recovery plan – to my committee’s continued frustration, it has to be said.

“If we don’t solve this crisis, then we are going to continue to hear about this in the House and we are going to continue to hear about it from constituents. It also places additional pressures on already-stretched NHS services.

“So, today is too late for some dentists thinking of leaving, and for some patients who have run out of options.

“We have a short-term set of actions to help our constituents suffering real pain today, and obviously we need that fully reformed dental recovery plan hot on its heels, there can’t be any further delay.”

Health minister Dame Andrea Leadsom called on MPs to be “patient just a little while longer”, and said they could expect the plan to be published “very shortly”.

But the British Dental Association was unhappy with the lack of action from ministers.

Its chairman Eddie Crouch said in a statement: “Today, when we needed clarity, the Government provided a full gamut of platitudes and half-truths.

“Ministers keep saying they want an NHS dentist for everyone. There is still no evidence of any plan to make that happen.”

Opening the debate, Wes Streeting had earlier claimed the Government had left the country “toothless” as a result of the crisis.

The shadow health secretary also fired a warning shot towards opponents of Labour’s plans to fund dental reform by scrapping the non-domiciled tax status, claiming that the party would “quote their arguments back at them” in campaign leaflets during a likely election year.

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins warned that Labour’s plans to scrap the non-dom status could have an impact upon the number of foreign workers recruited into the NHS.

Ms Atkins said: “As our economy grows, we on this side of the House want to attract the best and the brightest from around the world to work in our NHS, to work in our tech sector, to work in our life sciences industry, to work in our movie industry – which we may know just filmed Barbie this year – and many other industries that are thriving.”

She added: “Labour wants to put that at risk and put the UK at a disadvantage in the highly paid, highly competitive, highly mobile international labour market.”

A Labour motion signed by Mr Streeting had urged the Government to provide an extra 700,000 urgent dental appointments a year, create incentives to recruit dentists into underserved areas, and create a supervised toothbrushing scheme for young school children.

It was rejected, with MPs voting 299 to 191, majority 108, against it.