Today, Rachael Maskell MP has made fresh demands in Parliament to address the crisis in dentistry throughout the city.

Addressing the House of Commons, Ms Maskell has handed in a local resident-led petition, requesting that the Government step in to stop the closure of the BUPA Dental Care York facility in Holgate.

Without any intervention, the practice which currently has 6,200 patients on its books including 4,200 NHS patients is currently set to close on 30 June 2023.

Residents are deeply concerned about the situation, not least because the waiting lists to access NHS dentistry in the York have now risen to 7 years.

If the facility does close it will be the third large dental practice in the city to leave NHS patients without access to dental care.

Upon handing in the petition to the House of Commons, Ms Maskell urged the Government to call on BUPA to stop the closure and to provide adequate dental care to residents in the area.

This intervention by the York Central MP comes as part of a wider campaign to tackle growing health inequalities in the city.

Rachael Maskell MP says:

“The situation with dental care in the city is now critical. We have already seen two large dental practices in the past year writing to patients to say they are no longer accepting NHS appointments for the foreseeable future, and we are now faced with the BUPA Dental Care York facility in Holgate closing completely.

“I have long been calling on the Government to step in, but to date they have failed to do so. Residents are rightly very angry about the situation. The closure will mean that from next week, an additional 4,200 patients in the city will have no access to NHS treatment.

“It is just not acceptable for Ministers to preside over such huge health inequalities any longer. In delivering this petition to Parliament today, I really do hope that the Government will listen to residents who are directly affected and answer the joint call to provide the urgent NHS dental places our city so desperately needs. That is why I am also calling for a National NHS Dental Service.”