Norfolk dental school call backed by county councillors

Kay Mason Billig, leader of Norfolk County Council is to lobby the government for a dental school to be established in the county, after every councillor backed a motion calling for action.

Kay Mason Billig (Image: Norfolk County Council)

The government is coming under increasing pressure to pump money into Norfolk to increase training places to help end the 'dental desert' which has left people in the county unable to get NHS treatment.

The UEA is keen to create a dental school in Norfolk (Image: Newsquest)

The University of East Anglia is keen to create a dental school, while The Place - the community hub which is being established in Great Yarmouth's former Palmers department store - has also been mooted as a possible location.

The Conservatives at the county council tabled a motion to garner support from councillors in backing the bid - and every councillor agreed to do so at a meeting on Tuesday.

Fran Whymark (Image: Archant)

Fran Whymark, the Conservative councillor who tabled the motion said children were ending up having to have teeth extracted in hospital because of a lack of access to NHS dentists.

He said: "Getting dental professionals into Norfolk is key and we could do that if we had a dental school here. It is essential."

Terry Jermy (Image: Archant)

Labour councillor Terry Jermy said: "There are 10 dental training colleges around the country and not one of them is within the east of England."

But he said a dental school would not be enough. He said it would take five years to train dentists and that the NHS contract needed to be reformed so dentists would offer NHS dental care.

Rob Colwell (Image: Rob Colwell)

Liberal Democrat Rob Colwell suggested that the College of West Anglia would be a good base for a dental school.

He said: "It's currently a postcode lottery as to whether people travel 10 miles or 70 miles to get dental provision."

Paul Neale (Image: Norwich City Council)

Green councillor Paul Neale said it was essential that lobbying focus on better funding for dentistry, as well as for the dental school.

People in Norfolk are struggling to find NHS dentists

All of Norfolk's MPs have backed the call for a Norfolk dentistry school.

Data from the Local Government Association shows Norfolk and Waveney has among some of the lowest numbers of dentists per 10,000 people in the country.