Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with Bupa on the future provision of care for NHS patients registered with Bupa Dental Care York.

I met with representatives from BUPA on 29 March to discuss the announcement and its impact on services in the affected areas.

Following BUPA’s notice to NHS England of closures, regional teams and integrated care boards across England are working together to ensure that patients continue to have access to National Health Service dental care. This includes an assessment to identify potential gaps in NHS dental service provision and to consider what actions may be required.

NHS dentists are required to keep their NHS.UK profiles up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients.

State-funded healthcare within the United Kingdom but outside of England is a devolved matter and the responsibility of the devolved Governments.

Patients struggling to find a local dentist can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for assistance or contact NHS 111 if seeking urgent care.