THE HULME TUNE

I did write to Tony Lloyd MP about the NHS dentist crisis in Hulme, he wrote back saying:

… I would like to draw your attention the extra funds being invested for additional dental activity in Manchester..

Ok, has anyone seen or experienced this investment? Me neither. Maybe it’s Didsbury, Heaton or Hale Barns. I haven’t seen the like in Hulme. He didn’t say additional NHS dental activity though - written by a true politician!

Laura Roberts, Chief Executive of the Manchester Primary Care Trust, wrote to Tony Lloyd MP:

A patient can access a dentist anywhere in the country for treatment..

Could have fooled me! Which country is she talking about? This one? Obviously, she must be a private patient and not NHS. Even though the statement is true for those who can afford to go private and pay dental charges and it may be the PCT’s dream, but it’s only part of the true picture.

Well, Laura, this is not the experience of thousands living in Manchester who cannot get hold of a dentist on the NHS. When a dentist shuts the door in the face of the poor, we try other dentists only to be told, “Sorry, we’re not taking any more NHS patients now.” Then another shuts its door and the problem worsens. Does she realise the reality of how bad the situation is? It may look good on paper, but are dentists buying in to it?

BBC NEWS ITEM 1

BBC NEWS ITEM 2

These BBC reports are from as long ago as March & June of last year! Why wasn’t anything radically done then? Even after the BBC reports, the Government thinks its new reforms, which more dentists are refusing, still look workable - through rose coloured glasses, perhaps.

Though I do agree that a lot of greedy dentists were drilling & filling healthy teeth, just to get more money from the state. Yet, if they got struck off for their malpractice then that alone would be a deterrent.

I will contact Karen O’Brien, Manchester PCT, to discuss this fantasy of theirs; that we can access a dentist anywhere in the country; but, in reality, access on the NHS is denied in many practices or they are too full to take on any more NHS patients. Notice how Laura Roberts ommits those important 3 little letters, N.H.S., in her sentence ? Hmm, I wonder why?

Laura Roberts goes on to say:

As the PCT has had numerous letters relating to the issue of access we have now invested £1million for additional dental activity for ‘units of dental activity’ including sedations and domiciliary for Manchester. The process began at the end of November to identify “willing providers” and the additional capacity will be in the city for January 2008.

What does “additional capacity” mean? Does it mean they will build more dental surgeries that will refuse to treat the NHS patients? More “units of dental activity” - is that more ‘private patients only’ surgeries she’s talking about? She didn’t say, units of NHS dental activity.. sorry, meant to say.. units of “willing providers”.. to be politically PCT.

Access = Where patients are treated by dentists on the NHS.

Sedations = When they give you gas to put you to sleep or use local anaesthetic.

Domiciliary = A residence; a home. (or) To provide with often temporary lodging.

Willing Providers = Rare & close to extinction - dentists who treat NHS patients.. won’t be that long of a list in my experience.

Maybe, if I used the Freedom of Information Act, I can access how they have or are spending this £1million. More importantly, where?

Further more, Laura Roberts sent me a (out-dated) list of

…dental practices which are currently (emphisis mine) providing NHS dentistry within the Manchester area.

The top one on this list, Hulme Dental Surgery, has stopped treating NHS patients for quite a while now and Kathe Lock Access Centre will extract teeth only if it’s an emergency - no other NHS treatment otherwise. We could always go back to the old fashion way, “OK, dad! You can slam shut the door now!”

From 2006 to 2007 the PCT spent a mere £888k on improving dentists - NHS only I hope. Why now spend money on those refusing NHS patients? They, on their website manchesterpct.nhs.uk, say that they made:

..improvements to dental facilities to deliver higher decontamination standards. The schemes cover GDP premises as well as the Community Dental Service and their facilities within PCT properties.

I can just imagine… £888K to spring clean dental surgeries of those radioactive, glo-in-the-dark, dentist masks. Only joking! I’m sure it was money well spent on bleach.

So, what will £1million buy us in Manchester today? One city centre surgery, equiped with state-of-the-art dental gear, near Urban Splash perhaps? Where is this facility being built? If anybody knows.. just secretly tell me and I’ll let everybody else know after I’ve tried it, otherwise I may not get access to the £1m live-in sedating dentist.

This £1m dental surgery, will they be “willing providers”? - Oh, I can’t wait to ask that one!

How many Polish dentists could we fly over for £1m?

What is your experience of NHS dental treatment in Hulme or Manchester? Please leave your comment.

Disclaimer: The views expressed on this page are entirely those of myself and are not neccessarily the views of MCIN or ALLfm.

My email to Tony Lloyd MP is identical to the post directly underneath this one.

On 23/01/2008, Tony Lloyd MP wrote:

Dear Mr Ridyard,

Tony Lloyd MP has asked me to thank you for your email, which is currently
receiving attention.

Kind regards,

Liam

(my reply)

Please thank Tony Lloyd MP for me, I do appreciate the work that he does and the time he takes to take my cases up with the various Government departments. I’m sure that this Government would never want to breach people’s human rights and break international laws concerning humanitarian issues.

A good headline, don’t you think?

I received a letter this morning telling me that unless I attend an interview at Alexander Job Centre they will reduce my benefit… and we wonder why crime is on the increase. The Government by doing this forces good abiding citizens to resort to breaking the law because they take money back off the poor, sick and disabled. I, like many other Incap claimants, are not eligible to work that’s why we are on the benefit we are on. This is backed up by our own GP; but MP’s, who think they are more qualified than GP’s, say differently.

So, how shall we break the law to get our money then Mr Tony Lloyd? Shall we beg? Steal? Do we starve while the Government mispends millions?

It’s like the Government putting a gun against my head and saying, “Attend this interview or we will starve you to death!” That’s right, any reduction in my benefit will effect my health as I won’t be able to buy food!

Interesting. When I rang the JC+ at Alexander Park I told them that I had just come out of hospital after a hernia operation. Fiona Burnside then asked me to get a letter from my GP why I could not attend. Ridiculess, I’m not a bloody child! A letter to excuse me from some interview? I told her to contact the Greater Manchester Surgical Centre - she refused. It was a letter from my GP or else!

What? GP’s don’t do letters unless they charge for them. Doctors are very busy people and to take time away from treating patients is time that could save a life. Does this Government not understand the pressures GP’s are put under? Every minute is important to health care in Britain, without taking them away to write a letter to the JC+ because of some over zealous Secretary of the Department of Work & Pensions is trying to force sick people to work - whip us why not?

This Government has set up unworkable unhelpful stupid rules to oppress the poor even more. I’ve had enough stress and anxiety this week and now its the Job Centre’s own insensitive rigid rules.

LEAVE ME ALONE TO RECOVER!!!