Taunton Deane MP Rebecca Pow has met Health Minister Maria Caulfield to highlight the difficulties many residents are facing in Taunton Deane - and in particular in Wellington - accessing NHS dental treatment.

Ms Pow has given assurances that she will keep up the pressure in Westminster to help improve dental provision locally.

She said: “I have been contacted by many residents who are unable to access an NHS dentist. I appreciate that dental services have been impacted by the pandemic, however, I made it clear to the Minister that this situation needs to be improved.

“I welcome the £50 million of extra funding that Government has recently announced across England to support 350,000 additional dental appointments, with £4.7 million being allocated to the South-West region.

“I am progressing this with the director of commissioning operations for dentistry in the South-West to ensure that they put in an expression of interest for funding to cover services in Taunton Deane.

“This funding will enable dental practices to offer additional appointments to provide short term additional capacity.

“The Minister stated that patients can check the NHS website, www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist, or phone NHS 111 to find available appointments in the area.

“At the moment, however, I stressed that if there are appointments, they are often not easily accessible for patients in Taunton, which is why more capacity needs to be provided for the area through the newly allocated funding.”