Jess Brown-Fuller Takes Chichester’s Dental Emergency to Parliament

Jess Brown-Fuller has secured a Parliamentary debate on dental provision in West Sussex, as residents across the area struggle to find NHS dentists accepting adult patients for routine treatment.

The difficulties facing West Sussex reflect a wider national picture. Recent analysis of official figures shows that more than five million children, around four in ten, had not seen a dentist in the year to June, while an estimated 28 million adults, roughly 60% of the population, have gone without dental care for two years or more. Critics have described areas like West Sussex as "dental deserts," where NHS provision for new patients has effectively collapsed.

Jess Brown-Fuller has secured a Parliamentary debate on dental provision in West Sussex.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a £750 million rescue package, which would reform the NHS dental contract to draw practitioners back from the private sector and introduce an emergency scheme providing free checkups for children, pregnant women, new mothers, and those on low incomes.

Ahead of the debate, Brown-Fuller is inviting constituents who have experienced difficulties accessing dental care to share their stories, which may be raised in Parliament. Contact her at jess.brownfuller.mp@parliament.uk