Toothless in Huntingdon

Exactly a month ago, I attended a demonstration in Bury St. Edmunds for the Toothless in Suffolk campaign. I'd only been made aware of the campaign during the interview to join the Communist Party but considering how locally focussed it is, I shouldn't be too surprised that it hadn't crossed my radar.

If you've not heard of it, Toothless in Suffolk and now Toothless in England are part of a campaign to pile pressure on local authorities and government to properly fund NHS dentists.

Almost immediately after arriving at the demonstration but after a few meet and greets, I was handed the corner of a banner to stand for a photo op. I was totally unprepared for how much media attention the campaign had garnered; a feeling that I think is aptly captured by the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on my face. 

After the march, there was a rally where local residents told their stories of getting access to an NHS dentist. Many have had to wait weeks for access or were told by the NHS 111 service to go to A & E instead! In some cases, NHS dentists have completely disappeared from local communities, meaning residents have had to travel if they can get treatment elsewhere. 

But it was the story of Danielle Watts that allowed the campaign to gain national coverage. She had to remove 11 of her own teeth due to her local dentist closing. She spoke from the heart and collectively we all felt the trauma she had experienced.

There is a crisis of care provision, with some major cities such as Cambridge and Ipswich dipping below the fifty per cent mark of adults qualifying for NHS cover.

“There’s a smash and grab on our NHS dental provision and people are really suffering in big numbers. Doctors surgeries are overrun with requests for antibiotics and pain relief, for conditions that should be dealt with by dentists. But so much provision has been privatised, that dental surgeries are opening and closing more regularly than high street retailers. Some small towns have no provision at all, or are reliant on a single privatised provider,” says Communist Party district secretary Steve Marsling.

“There was no way the communists would turn a blind eye to this development” echo Felixstowe campaigner Mark Jones and Bury St Edmunds Communist councillor, Darren Turner. So local party branches are out at weekends collecting signatures for a “Toothless” campaign petition, picketing the surgery of dental services minister Jo Churchill MP and writing in the local press. Activists have been interviewed on local radio and grabbed fulsome coverage in local papers.

Commissioners have been lobbied and doctors approached with a proposal to establish an interim ‘mobile service’. “We want to spread this campaign to every locality,” says Steve. “It is the working class who are being hit the hardest but in fact, all are affected, especially pensioners. We have been inspired by the campaigning to keep the QEH open in Kings Lynn and know too well, the anger that exists locally at the destruction of our health service. What’s happening to dental services is similar to the strategy used by the government to privatise the postal service. Both these have had a big and negative impact on life in rural areas. So we are fighting back.”

And fight back we will!

In my opinion, the class nature of the NHS crisis is no more pronounced than it is within the area of dental care. When NHS dentists disappear from our communities, it is the working class as a whole who are hit the hardest. Some workers are lucky enough to be able to afford private dental care but should they really have to? Isn't that what we pay our taxes and national insurance for? 

We're living in the 5th richest country in the world. No one should have to worry about financing the removal of a rotten tooth! Especially since undetected tooth infections could increase the risk of heart disease by almost three times!

These issues cut right through any political and partisan divides. Whether you voted Tory or Labour matters not a jot. We all need access to the same healthcare. The violent reality we face is that taxation is compulsory for workers, but healthcare isn't.

How's that fair?

In Huntingdonshire, where I live, the crisis with dentistry presents slightly differently to how it has done in Suffolk. We have an abundance of private dentists and because we're a reasonably affluent area, most likely due to our proximity to Cambridge, it's unlikely that they'll go anywhere. But our core problem remains the same: lack of dental practices taking on NHS patients. Out of ten that I contacted, none were taking on NHS patients.

A report from Healthwatch Cambridgeshire showed that more than 14,000 patients were turned away between April 2017 and March 2018, with the highest numbers in Wisbech and Peterborough. The figure for Huntingdon alone was verging on 3,000! This number will be much greater now, no doubt worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is here in Huntingdonshire, John Major's old constituency, that I've decided to take up the fight. With the help of local residents and activists, we will do everything in our power to bring NHS dentists back into our communities.

Below are just a few of the comments we've had since starting Toothless in Huntingdon:

"My partner is a patient at a dentist in Warboys. I broke my tooth best 6 weeks ago and they refused me an emergency appointment. it's OK if you are willing to pay their private fees which are astronomical. Not everyone has the finances to be able to pay those fees."

"This campaign is very much needed. I was pregnant with dental issues and could not be seen by anyone. At 38 weeks pregnant, I had to pay £80 for a private appointment. I'm now 8 months postnatal and still no local dentist."

"We had an NHS dentist until she wrote to us and said she was leaving NHS and only doing private from next year as it was too stressful! She is staying at the same practice and we haven’t been offered any alternative I think it’s absolutely shocking!"

"Just called my Dentist said call back in April that is a joke and disgusting I am in pain now private could pay for it could be £300 which I can’t afford that ,I been though cancer treatment now can’t get Dental treatment what has it come too."

Whoever it was that decided eyes and teeth should be separate from healthcare must be rolling in it!

The Toothless campaign has six demands. We are calling for:

1. An NHS dentist for everyone
2. Reforms to the NHS dental contract that will encourage dentists to provide NHS treatments
3. Revenue to cover the 50% of the population that are unfunded by the government
4. NHS dental treatments to be free at the point of use
5. People to be prioritised before shareholder dividend - no more privatisation
6. An end to the two-tier system - hygienists, routine check-ups and preventative treatments must be a core NHS function

Thinking about starting a Toothless campaign in your neck of the woods? Get in contact with the campaign hub Toothless in England. They'll help you get set up and provide you with all the materials you need.