AN NHS dentist was this week said to be preparing to open a practice in Wellington to bring an end to the town’s ‘dental desert’ status.

Wellington has for several years been without a dentist providing treatment on the NHS since all the local practices decided they could make more money by only accepting private patients.

Existing NHS patients were told they had to take out private medical insurance plans to continue receiving treatment.

Now, MP Gideon Amos has been assured by NHS Somerset that it was supporting plans for a new dental practice in Wellington.

Chief medical officer Dr Bernie Marden and dental strategy clinical lead Jenny Albiston said in a letter to Mr Amos: “The practice has identified a premises and is currently undertaking a full survey of the property, which would need full renovation and refurbishment.

“With these and other matters still to be confirmed, we are not currently in a position to provide a definitive timeline towards opening at this stage.

“However, we are pleased to say the provider would be offering a mix of NHS and private dental services, enhancing NHS dental access in the area.

“We know people in the Wellington area, and more widely across Somerset, want better access to NHS dentistry and we hope you agree this is welcome news.

“This project is part of NHS Somerset’s broader dental recovery plan, which contains a range of measures to improve access.”

Mr Amos, who has campaigned on the issue since before his election and recently raised it in Parliament, said: “This is great news. I am delighted that our efforts have been rewarded.

“This surgery, welcome though it is, will not solve the whole of Somerset’s problems, so we will continue to make better dental provision and a better NHS generally, our number one priority.”

Mr Amos said a survey in 2022 showed fewer than half of local people had access to an NHS dentist, and the situation had become worse in the three years since.

He said: “Over half the constituents who contacted me did have an NHS dentist, but were then told it was going private, so they lost it.

“That decline has been consistent.

“My constituents are having to travel out of county and, as I said in the Chamber last year, one of them, a stage three cancer sufferer, is having to use her savings to pay for dental treatment she is entitled to for free on the National Health Service.

“Thank you to all those who have spoken out, who signed my petition, or who have been pushing for better NHS dental provision in their own way.

“As Liberal Democrats, we ramped up pressure on the new Government, both by making the NHS and care our number one priority at the General Election and by working with the British Dental Association and others.

“As a team of 72 MPs, we have stopped at nothing in Parliament to push Ministers to provide more NHS dentists.”