Belmarsh Prison in south-east London is one of the highest security prisons in Britain. Convicts serving time there include Charles Bronson, once described as Britain’s most dangerous man, and Abu Hamza, the fundamentalist preacher convicted of terrorism, as well as Michael Antepolazzo, who murdered soldier Lee Rigby, and Ali Harbi Ali, who murdered the Tory MP, David Ames. .
An inspection in June by HM Inspectorate of Prisons said of the prison’s dental provision that “waiting times were good, with most people receiving an initial assessment within seven days and continuing treatments within a similar timeframe”.
Emergency appointments were quicker if needed and inmates received treatments such as “dentures, root canal work, scales, fillings and oral health promotion” six sessions a week. There was also a fortnightly session for “complex cases” to reduce hospital attendants, it said.
The service is provided by Prisoner Centered Dental Care, which also operates in six other prisons, including Wandsworth and Brixton.
“Reasonable” care even in prison failure
At Wandsworth, an inspection in July found that “failures were evident in almost all aspects of the prison’s operation” but dental care was deemed “reasonable”.
Despite widespread violence, illegal drug use, security concerns and officers celebrating suicides, the prison usually secured inmates a routine dental appointment within seven weeks.
At HMP Verne on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, which is nicknamed “Paedo Alcatraz” for housing hundreds of sex offenders and pedophiles, including Gary Glitter, inmates were seen within two weeks of requesting an appointment, according to an inspection report . in July.
HMP Verne’s dental services are outsourced to Time for Teeth, which provides dental care in 75 different prisons across England, including Pentonville in north London, where waiting times are two to six weeks.
Denis Reid, director of over-60s campaign group Silver Voices, said the government’s priorities were “skewed”.
“It really reveals that in many parts of the country there is no NHS dentistry at all. There may well be prisons receiving NHS dentistry in areas that are NHS dental deserts – a little oasis in the middle of a whole area,” he said.
“It’s completely skewed priorities and that has to change. There are many areas where there is no way to register for an NHS dentist and that is the reality most people face today.’
Last month, more than 100 people queued from 2.30am. to register with an NHS dentist in Warrington, with similar scenes recorded in Bristol earlier this year.
The latest NHS figures show that just 40 per cent of adults had visited an NHS dentist in the two years ending June 2024 and only 56 per cent of children had had a check-up in the previous 12 months.
Labour’s analysis for 2022-23 revealed that 100,000 children and adults had gone to A&E with tooth decay or cavities and 4.75 million people had been refused an appointment with an NHS dentist in the previous two years.
