Joanna Wright, Green group leader on Bath and North East Somerset Council, has denied allegations that she used her political position to gain priority access to NHS dental care. During a recent full council debate on July 16 focusing on dental services, Ms Wright explained how she and her family had been removed from their NHS dentist’s list after failing to secure an appointment over a two-year period amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
She recounted that after raising a complaint as a councillor about the difficulties faced, she and her family were reinstated with NHS dental care. “It is the only time it has been useful to be a councillor. It has probably saved me and my family a huge amount of money,” she said.
However, the Liberal Democrats, who lead the council, accused Ms Wright of “jumping the queue” by name-dropping her role as a councillor. This accusation was amplified after a video clip of her comments was posted on the Liberal Democrat group’s Facebook page, attracting over 65,000 views.
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In response, Ms Wright stressed that she was not leveraging her position for personal gain but was drawing attention to the widespread unfairness in NHS dental care access. She explained that many patients had been inappropriately removed from dentists’ lists during Covid due to appointment shortages, not because of any fault of their own.
The controversy arose amidst Bath and North East Somerset’s reputation as a “dental desert,” with a shortage of NHS dentists accepting new patients. At the council meeting, Ms Wright’s motion calling for government reform of the NHS dental system was seconded by the Liberal Democrats and passed unanimously.
Liberal Democrat council leader Kevin Guy commented, “It’s extremely important to highlight the need for more NHS dentists in our area, and I’m sure Ms Wright did not intend to take advantage of her elected status.”
Ms Wright, originally elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor in 2019, left the party to join the Green Party in 2021 and was re-elected as a Green councillor in 2023, now leading a Green group on the council.