THIRSK and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake says there is no room on NHS waiting lists in North Yorkshire for dental treatment and it has been like that for most of the seven years he has been in parliament.

The MP made the claim in a parliamentary debate on dental services last week, which also saw York Central MP Rachael Maskell lament a lack of such provision, as previously reported in the Press.

Mr Hollinrake says he knows of dentists who will accept NHS patients but they cannot “get the units of dental activity.”

He told the house that one constituent told him that her son has special needs but despite being on benefits, he has to go private because he cannot get on an NHS waiting list. He had to have a toot removed due to an abcess, something that could have been avoided had he had regular check-ups.

The MP also said the NHS dentist closed in Bondgate, Helmsley, closed in September 2020, but it won’t re-open until April at the earliest. It will have taken the NHS 20 months to re-open the service, despite someone being willing to take on the contract right from the start.

“We must put a rocket up the people commissioning this—20 months is simply not acceptable”, he added.