NHS waiting lists and lack of NHS dentists dominate conversation of Peterborough's Question Time

The issue of long NHS waiting lists and Peterborough’s status as a ‘dental desert’ dominated the agenda of the most recent episode of the BBC’s Question Time, which was filmed at KingsGate in the city on Thursday night (January 18).

The issue was discussed by the show’s panel Bim Afolami, Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden and Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Emily Thornberry Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury and former member of the Shadow Cabinet, Hashi Mohamed- a barrister, author and broadcaster and Kate McCann- a political journalist and current political editor of Times Radio.

The panel was asked the question ‘With NHS lists at their highest level since records began, should we all copy the royal family and opt for private healthcare. The question was put forward by a lady who said she had to travel around 40-50 miles North Lincolnshire to find a dentist.

Two further studio guests also shared their experience of being deregistered from their NHS dentist during the pandemic, with one saying the nearest NHS dentist that she could find taking on new patients was in Kettering.

Both Peterborough’s MP Paul Bristow and Labour candidate Andrew Pakes have called for action on the city’s status as a ‘dental desert.’

Host Fiona Bruce was also left shocked when she asked for a show of hands of who had struggled to access a NHS dentist and a large number of the small audience raised their hands.

Bim Afolami, Conservative MP

“I don’t know the availability of NHS dentists in Peterborough precisely. What I do know more generally is that we are increasing the funding and we are making it easier for more dentists to take on NHS patients.

“It’s going to take more time to work some of this out, part of the impact has been the impact of Covid where issues were not treated for a very long time and the backlogs were difficult. Some dentists then stopped taking patients.

"We are trying to incentivize more dentists to take NHS dentists.

“The impact of Covid on our system was significant and NHS dentists were a big part of that but now we have got the economy turning the corner, which means we can increase the funding where necessary.”

Emily Thornberry, Labour MP

“The NHS is so broken. After 14 years, who broke it? This government has failed, we need a change and a bit of hope for the NHS.

"When we left government, the NHS wasn’t even an issue because it was sorted. Look what they’ve done to it, how bad it is. They have done nothing about social care, they have not adapted.

“The waiting lists were going up before Covid and have been for a long time.

“We have a pot of money we are going to use to pay the staff more to work longer hours but to help fight back waiting lists.

“We have announced that we are going to provide more NHS dentists, I have spoken to people in Peterborough who have difficulties getting hold of NHS dentists and it isn’t just Peterborough.

“We are being straight forward and saying we can’t fix the NHS they took 15 years to break in one term. We will need more than one term to turn the NHS round because it is linked completely with what we want to do with the economy.”

Bim Afolami, Conservative MP

"Nobody should have to go private. Since the beginning of this parliament, funding has gone up by a third, that’s a lot and we were spending a lot before. The NHS is about 42-43% of everything the government spends.

“There are now more staff than there was before. I’m not saying all the problems are solved but we are making progress. There is one thing that has particularly undermined the issues of waiting lists this year and that is strikes.

“Junior doctor strikes have had a huge impact on waiting lists. In November 23, the last month with no strikes, the waiting list went down by 100,000.

“We’ve settled with consultants, nurses and other medical staff but they are demanding a 35% increase on already above average wages, which the government thinks is unreasonable.

"They should come to the table and stop these strikes that are having a huge negative impact on waiting lists and the lives of constituents.”

Hashi Mohamed, Barrister and author

“We have not been putting enough money in when we compare ourselves to the European continent and yet with the money we are putting in, we are not getting what we deserve out of it.

“The NHS is one of those pillars of our institutions but sooner or later we have to confront that it is not working how it should be and we have to do something serious.”

The panel also discussed the government’s Rwanda policy, the possibility of Donald Trump winning a second term as President of America and should we all be eating less meat.

The episode can be viewed on BBCiPlayer.