• NHS repair costs rises to £13.8bn as Lib Dems call for comprehensive plan to end the backlog
• McArthur responds to dental deserts in Orkney and elsewhere

NHS repair costs rises to £13.8bn as Lib Dems call for comprehensive plan to end the backlog

Responding to the latest NHS figures showing that the cost of repairs to the NHS estate now stands at £13.8bn, up from £11.6bn last year Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Health and Social Care, Helen Morgan MP said:

This comes as no surprise to anyone that works in the NHS. Crumbling hospital buildings, flooded wards, and rat infested basements are just the start.

That the cost of fixing this mess has only risen is just yet more proof of the Conservatives’ record of neglect and mismanagement of our NHS.

Patients must be treated in safe modern hospitals and staff deserve a decent workplace. The Government must now bring forward a comprehensive plan to end this backlog and get the NHS back on its feet.

McArthur responds to dental deserts in Orkney and elsewhere

Responding to a BBC investigation which revealed that six Scottish council areas (Argyll & Bute, Dumfries & Galloway, Inverclyde, Orkney, Perth and Kinross and Shetland) have no dental practices able to take on new adult NHS patients within three months, Orkney MSP Liam McArthur said:

Toothcare should be universally accessible – it cannot just be for those who can afford to go private.

A concerning number of dentists are no longer offering NHS services because of the low rates they receive for that work.

There are also clearly issues specific to rural and island areas which are impacting on recruitment and retention. In the past there were incentive schemes to encourage dentists to take up posts in these areas but those incentives are now being spread so thin that any benefits are being undermined.

The low-margin, high-volume funding system does not work in island and rural settings. Certain treatments are, de facto, loss making unless they are delivered in high numbers, which simply cannot be achieved in places such as Orkney.

No wonder that the British Dental Association insists that NHS dentistry has been “in crisis for a generation”

I want to see quality, accessible dentistry in every community across Scotland. Ministers need to rewrite their failed NHS Recovery Plan to include dentistry, prioritise workforce planning and boost the number of dentists taking on NHS patients.