Issue - meetings

Questions Submitted Under Council Procedure Rule 10

Meeting: 19/03/2024 - Council (Item 58)

58 Questions Submitted Under Council Procedure Rule 10 pdf icon PDF 50 KB

By Councillor Smith to Councillor Wright, Executive Member for Adult Services, Health & Housing

 

Can the Executive Member give an update on what is being done to encourage the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS to ensure that there are sufficient NHS dental services in Bracknell Forest? This is important as more and more of our residents are having difficulty accessing an NHS dentist. This is of particular concern for children’s dental health and due the fact that private dental treatment is increasingly unaffordable for many of our residents, who face significant cost of living pressures.

Minutes:

The question and response submitted Under Council Procedure Rule 10 was published in advance of the meeting - Council Question Response - 19 March 2024.pdf (bracknell-forest.gov.uk)

 

As a supplementary question, Councillor Smith stated that he was aware of residents facing struggles in accessing NHS Dental Services particularly for children and very specifically children with SEND and similar needs who required very specialist Dental Services and asked the Executive Member to expand on her answer specifically in relation to that that demographic.

 

The Executive Member for Adults, Health and Housing, Councillor Wright, confirmed that access to NHS dentists for all residents would be discussed at the next Health and Wellbeing Board meeting where an update would also be requested in the area of children with Special Educational Needs. It was confirmed that the Board was already aware that there was a service need for an increase in capacity.

 

The Executive Member also informed Council that she had created a resource for Councillors to refer to if they had residents who are struggling to find an NHS dentist and would be happy to share that with any Councillor who would find it useful.