Daisy Cooper MP awarded parliamentary award for access to dentistry

MP for St Albans Daisy Cooper has been awarded the parliamentary award for access to dentistry. This award is in recognition of her work campaigning for patients to see dentists on the NHS.

Daisy Cooper, MP for St Albans, has said, “I am honoured to have received this award in recognition of my work campaigning for patients to see dentists on the NHS: a local issue which I’ve put firmly on the national stage.  

“I hear from local residents all the time that they are in pain and can’t find a dentist on the NHS, often resorting to shelling out hundreds of pounds for treatment or “DIY dentistry” at home. I also hear from local dentists how frustrated they are that the government’s contract is so broken, that they have been left with no choice but to hand some of their NHS contracts back – it’s ridiculous.

”This Conservative government has shown a total disregard for every aspect of our health service. Wherever you look, the NHS is crumbling.  

“Every parent knows how important it is to ensure that their children can see a dentist when they need to. Leaving children in pain can disrupt their eating, sleeping and learning. The fact that Ministers have been failing to sort this out for years is completely unacceptable.’’

Daisy spent the afternoon answering questions from dentists about contract reform, recruitment and retention, and improving access to NHS dentistry. She outlined Liberal Democrat plans such as supervised tooth brushing in early years settings to improve dental health. All her hard work campaigning on dentistry was recognised by being presented an award from the Association of Dental groups. 

In the last 12 months, the Liberal Democrats have revealed that more than 4.4 million children in England have not been seen by an NHS dentist for at least a year, that six in ten local areas have seen a rise in the number of people per dentist since 2019, and that some areas in the UK have more than 3000 people to every NHS dentist.