News / St Pauls
St Paul’s campaign puts dentistry crisis on national agenda
Tuesday morning saw people queuing down the street for the second day in a row to register with the newly reopened dentist in St Paul’s.
Some people had arrived at 4.30am to secure their space, while others brought portable stools to sit on for the long wait ahead.
“It’s just a relief to have a dentist,” says Mary, settling good naturedly to queue with her friend, Shirley.
is needed now More than ever
“People have worked very hard to get this opened.”
Mary and Shirley say they are just glad to have a dentist back in the community as they join the long queue to register for the newly reopened St Paul’s Dentist – photo: Ellie Pipe
The long queues just to register with an NHS dentist made headlines around the UK and the small campaign group responsible for getting the St Paul’s dentist reopened have succeeded in putting a countrywide health crisis on the top of the national agenda.
Tara Miran has been a leading voice in the fight to get the community’s only dentist back open and is a founding member of the campaign group that worked for some ten months to make it happen.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme on Tuesday morning, Tara spoke about why the victory is “bitter sweet”.
“We knew in advance it was going to be crazy busy,” the campaigner told the BBC.
“We knew it would be bittersweet. We arrived at the result, we got what we wanted, we reopened our dentist. It is an NHS dentist. But looking at the queue yesterday, it was ridiculous. It’s just a little snippet of the state of dentistry in the country.”
The practice on Ashley Road was one of 85 Bupa dental practices due to close last June, sparking pleas from patients in the local community who said they would struggle to find a replacement.
Following the fierce campaign to get it reopened, the St Paul’s Dental Practice reopened its doors on Monday, run by SGA Dental Group, which has practices in Southmead and Thornbury.
Amirah Cole (left) and Tara Miran have campaigned for months to get the dentist reopened in St Paul’s – photo: Tara Miran
Speaking to Bristol24/7 on Tuesday afternoon, Tara was frank about how difficult the campaign was.
“I have a mixed reaction,” she says. “On the one hand, we are very proud of the small but mighty campaign group behind this. We faced barrier after barrier, closed door after closed door. We sent a lot of emails to ask for support and we got silence back.”
Tara, who campaigned alongside a core group of residents and Labour councillor for the ward, Amirah Cole, said it was yet another thing to have to fit in around family, jobs and everything else.
“It feels like a small victory that’s very deserved as a campaign group and it’s much deserved for our community,” the activist tells Bristol24/7.
“Health inequalities hit us back to back, assets are being stripped from our community, we have had some sad news coming from St Paul’s in recent years, so this is a sign of hope ahead and a sign of what can be possible through social action.
“We believe we have opened the doors to more dental provision in our community for those who need it most. But a small campaign group cannot respond to the crisis of dentistry in this country, the responsibility is with the government to offer more equitable dentistry to communities in Bristol and across the country.
“We can see the crisis now, it’s just whether everyone will work together faster, better and share resources towards equitable, sustainable and accessible dental health care provision so we can reverse this crisis, as we have shown it can be possible in St Paul’s.
“Use our campaign as inspiration. We are here to talk to people and share our story.”
Tara says the long queues in St Paul’s to register for an NHS dentist are “just a little snippet of the state of dentistry in the country” – photo: Ellie Pipe
Tara adds that its vital to include community campaigners in decision-making spaces and to listen to what they have to say and take action.
“It’s bitter sweet,” she adds. “I’m happy but it does point to a sad, dark picture with regards to dentistry. We challenge the government and local authorities; we have shown you what’s possible, what is your contribution going to be?”
Main photo: Ellie Pipe
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