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Lincolnshire Police and Crime Comissioner Marc Jones believes a new Bill giving victims of crime a stronger voice in the justice system will “drive up standards and outcomes for residents at the most critical times”.

The new Bill unveiled by government this week sets out plans to ensure victims are better heard, served and protected under wide ranging reforms.

Once passed by Parliament, the Bill will create the first ever Victims’ Law – guaranteeing greater consultation with them during the criminal justice process. It will also hold agencies such as the police, Crown Prosecution Service and the courts to account for the service they provide.

The draft Victims Bill includes measure that will:

• Give victims the right to attend Parole Board hearings in full and submit questions about an offender’s suitability for release
• Ensure police and crime commissioners have the power to convene criminal justice partners to improve standards and outcomes for victims of crime
• Give Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyers a new duty to arrange a face-to-face meeting with each victim of crime before cases come to court
•  Increase the victim surcharge paid by offenders by 20% in a move forecast to raise an additional £20million by 2025. This will be spent on rape support centres and other measures to help victims
• The Parole Board will have to consider victims’ concerns before making a decision

Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones, as chairman of the commissioners’ national association, has been at the forefront of talks with ministers to create the new legislation.

He said:  “I am absolutely committed to ensuring that anyone who is affected by crime in Lincolnshire and beyond receives the support they need.

“At a time when people need faith in the justice system they often feel further victimised by procedures that can be confusing and frustrating – we must build trust in the system by putting victims at the centre.

“This new legislation will place locally elected and accountable police and crime commissioners at the centre of the service victims receive. It will drive up standards and outcomes for residents at the most critical times.

“I will continue to work with government to ensure the Bill delivers real and lasting improvements for the victims of crime.”

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: “No victim should feel lost in a faceless system. We’re amplifying victims’ voices, boosting their rights at every stage and making criminals pay more to help victims recover.

“We’re doing this because it is morally the right thing to do to strengthen the care for victims, but also because it is operationally critical to drive up convictions – and keep our streets safe.”

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has “only worsened the situation” of NHS dental access in rural counties including Lincolnshire as the profession reaches “breaking point”, according to the Vice Chair of the Lincolnshire Local Dental Committee.

A recent survey from Healthwatch Lincolnshire, which gained 236 responses, found that 45% had no access to an NHS dentist while one person said they were being forced to ‘self medicate’.

To find out the exact extent of the issue in Lincoln, we contacted 10 local dental practices to find out whether or not they are taking on NHS patieny, and here’s what we found out.

• West Parade Dental Care, Newland Dental Care, Bupa Dental Care (both The Strait and Doddington Road), Lincoln Dental Care, Genesis Dental Care, and Brant Road Dental Practice ARE NOT taking on new NHS patients
• Guildhall Dental Care are only taking on new child patients on the NHS, but not adults
• Carholme Dental Practice is accepting children on the NHS, but only private and practice plan for adults
• When Cathedral View Dental Practice on Burton Road was asked if it was taking on new NHS patients, it said it was unable to comment

Appleby & Associates in North Hykeham were also contacted, who said it was mainly private but did usually take children on the NHS, but currently had no spaces for this.

In addition, Treeline on Lincoln High Street, which is run by JDSP Dental Limited, is registering military patients on the NHS, but has no other capacity to take on NHS patients. However, it can take patients on privately.

The practice also says within its automated message before you get through that it is in the process of contacting former patients from Powell and Associates, which closed its doors after 140 years last summer.

Each practice has a UDA quota, which is the unit of currency for measuring the type of clinical activity expected from a dentist within a 12-month contract for a certified financial value. The value of this varies from practice to practice, but it is understood that Lincolnshire has historically low values and could be another reason why recruitment is getting even more difficult.

Responding to the issue of dental access in the county Andy Fenn, Vice Chair of the Lincolnshire Local Dental Committee told The Lincolnite: “NHS dental access was an issue for rural counties including Lincolnshire before the pandemic and the impact of this only worsened the situation, such that urban areas are seeing the same issues once the peculiarity of rural areas.

“The reasons are multifactorial, not least the crisis in recruitment, the like of which we have not seen before. The loss of EU graduates, accelerated by Brexit and the stalling of the ORE process (although this has now been resurrected) severely impacted this together with a paradigm shift where new graduates were reported to be far less keen to undertake NHS work instead, in many cases opting for higher training, working in private practices or hospital settings.

“Additionally the desire to work less hours, with more part time work being sought has become the norm. Added to this we have seen dentists from the baby boomers group retiring, taking with them a previous commitment to the NHS, typically founded on the previous ‘item of service’ contract.

“The pandemic restrictions have typically resulted in backlogs of work, along with staff burnout, staff shortages and low morale with increasing mental health issues being seen amongst team members. On top of this the NHS UDA system which was deemed to be problematic from its inception in 2006 has failed to deliver for patients and the dental teams.

“A thorough review carried out by Prof Jimmy Steele in 2008-2009 highlighted the need for reforms and identified the model familiar to graduates, which would facilitate the delivery of dentistry in line with how undergraduates had been taught at dental school.

“Unfortunately, even with a series of pilots and prototypes since that time, the failed NHS contract is still being used to provide dental care for patients despite the acknowledged shortcomings on both sides of the House and in the Lords. Contract reform has been promised since the time of the coalition government but here we are in 2022, without any real plans of substance. The profession is at breaking point with the NHS contract.”