Call to tackle 'jaw-dropping' NHS dentistry waits

MP Tim Farron said people were waiting up to 15 months for treatment

An MP is calling for action to tackle "jaw-dropping" waits for NHS dentistry.

Liberal Democrat Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale in Cumbria, has written to University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMB) after a letter from its chief executive revealed some patients waited more than 15 months for orthodontic care.

He said the waits were "dire" and he was concerned about children and young people getting "very irregular" appointments and "carrying problems into their adult life".

UHMB has been approached for comment.

Farron said the letter from UHMB's chief executive Jane McNicholas revealed there were 1,100 patients on their waiting list, with a further 70 waiting to be triaged.

Need to increase capacity

Separate figures published by NHS Business Service Authority showed 59% of adults within the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board area had not seen a dentist in the two years to March - in line with the national average.

They also showed 40% of children within the area had not seen a dentist in the 12 months to March - lower than the national average of 45%.

In a letter to UHMB's CEO, Farron asked the trust what help it needed to tackle long waits.

He called for increased capacity so patients can be confident "their treatment plan will be adhered to and not elongated due to missed appointments and lack of staffing to deliver that care".