Prisoners have better access to free NHS dentistry than millions of law-abiding patients, research has revealed.
Murderers, rapists and pedophiles are among those who can receive medical care as soon as the same day, at taxpayers’ expense.
Only around half (52 per cent) of the British public are registered with an NHS dentist, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Meanwhile, 97 per cent of people without a dentist who tried to get an NHS appointment in September were unable to do so.
But inspection reports reveal that prisons housing some of the country’s most notorious criminals, including Belmarsh, Pentonville and Frankland, offer routine and urgent dentist appointments within weeks, if not the same day.
Dentists say there are better incentives to do prison work, which is outsourced to private companies. This includes higher salaries, better hours, and fewer goals.
Prisoners have better access to free NHS dentistry than millions of law-abiding patients, research has revealed (File Image)
Murderers, rapists and pedophiles are among those who can receive medical care as soon as the same day, at taxpayers’ expense (File Image)
Meanwhile, 97 per cent of people without a dentist who tried to get an NHS appointment in September were unable to do so (File Image)
Reports from HM Prisons Inspectorate reveal that routine waits at HMP Oakwood in Staffordshire were less than four weeks, but “patients experiencing pain were able to see a dentist within one working day”.
At Buckley Hall prison in Rochdale there was “virtually no wait to access assessment and support”, the Telegraph found.
Meanwhile, at HMP Frankland in Co Durham, a high-security prison housing Wayne Couzens, the former Metropolitan Police officer serving a life sentence for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, 33, inmates can wait to be seen. “same day” for urgent appointments or if they are in pain.
An inmate at a category B prison told the newspaper: “After years of looking for an NHS dentist, I finally found a very good one in prison.”
Most people, including those who have retired, have to pay a minimum of £26.80 for a routine NHS check if they can get it, while prisoners are exempt.
Inmates in England and Wales’ 122 prisons also pay for fillings, dentures and other procedures by the taxpayer, with some treatments costing hundreds of pounds.
Murderers, rapists and pedophiles are among those who can receive medical care as soon as the same day, at taxpayers’ expense (file image)
At HMP Frankland in Co Durham, inmates can expect to be seen “same day” for urgent appointments or if they are in pain.
Dennis Reed, director of over-60s campaign group Silver Voices, said: “There may well be prisons providing NHS dentistry in areas that are NHS dental deserts – a little oasis in the middle of a whole area.”
“They are completely distorted priorities and that must change.”
An official report on Belmarsh, one of the highest security prisons in the country, found that “waiting times were good, with the majority of people receiving an initial assessment within seven days and ongoing treatment within a similar timeframe.”
Urgent appointments were quicker if necessary and prisoners received treatments including “dentures, root canals, scales, fillings and oral health promotion” with six sessions a week.
Among the convicts serving time there are Charles Bronson, once considered the most dangerous man in Britain, Abu Hamza, the fundamentalist Islamic preacher, as well as Michael Adebolajo, who murdered soldier Lee Rigby, and the murderer of Conservative MP David Amess, Ali Harbi Ali.
A government spokesperson said: ‘This Government is committed to rebuilding NHS dentistry, but it will take time.
“We will start with 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments to help those who need it most and will reform the dental contract to encourage more dentists to offer NHS services to patients.”
An NHS spokesperson said: ‘As prison healthcare commissioners, NHS England has the legal task of ensuring that dental care is provided to patients in prison.
‘The NHS recognizes that there is a lot of work to do to boost everyday NHS dental care across the country and that is why we are working with the Government on measures to boost access, such as incentivising dentists to work in underserved areas. ‘