Following last year’s survey of local dentistry provision by Cllr Hannaby’s Wantage Health Committee the findings have now been discussed at the County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) , chaired by Wantage Charlton County Councillor Jane Hanna.
The Thames Valley Integrated Care Board which has responsibility for NHS dental services have been asked to address the issue of patchy provision across the County which sees the OX 12 area particularly badly served. The findings of the original survey were stark and uncovered a dental desert in our area.
A half of all residents only visit the dentist when they have a major problem, a half have to travel 20 miles or more to access services and one third of children have no access to an NHS service. The recent expansion of a local Dental Practice saw the opening of their list to new NHS patients but within weeks that is now closed too.
Cllr Andrew Crawford spoke to BBC Radio Oxford in June to highlight these concerns and pointed out that on top of the current shortcomings the OX12 area is likely to grow by over 7,500 residents in the next 7 years, none of whom, as things stand, will be able to access NHS dental care. The HOSC Committee made a series of recommendations which included investment in rural areas experiencing rapid housing growth to which the ICB is required to respond within 28 days.