St Paul’s residents protest dental centre closure

Residents in St Paul’s gathered outside a dental care centre in St Paul’s on Wednesday to protest the building’s closure.

Bupa Dental Care St Paul’s is one of 85 Bupa dental practices nationwide due to close in June, sparking pleas from patients in the local community who say they will struggle to find a replacement.

The protest, organised by race equality and community development activist Tara Miran, hopes to save the “essential local resource” from closure.

Milan, who also owns the Green Melon, a plastic-free fruit and veg shop in St Paul’s, said the lack of NHS dental care was hitting the St Paul’s community the hardest, as the residents “faced multiple inequalities daily”.

“Our Bupa dentist is closing and we’re a community who faces multiple deprivations on a daily basis and so dental care is a necessity for us we can not afford to lose,” said Miran.

“We’re talking  to our councillors Amirah Cole, Jude English and Tim Wye, and have written to our MP Thangam Debbonaire, NHS Integrated Care and Bristol City Council to seek an urgent solution to this crisis.

Bupa Dental Care St Paul’s is one of 85 centres due to close across the country this June – photo: Tara Miran

“This nationwide lack of NHS dental care has hit our local community hardest as we face multiple inequalities daily.

“We demand an urgent solution before our dental care needs multiply further over time- which will result in costing the NHS even more.

“It’s about prevention rather than intervention and we invite everyone to this conversation to save St Pauls’ local dentist.

Residents are hoping to retain the surgery, which is currently owned by Sovereign Housing, to ensure it can be used to serve its community.

“When I worked at BCC in Community Development during the pandemic, we worked effectively with colleagues from NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire IBC to provide local and accessible clinics to give vaccinations,” said Miran

“We SERVED the community. We were innovative in our insight-driven approach to supporting minority ethnic communities in the vaccine uptake. This is an approach we can emulate for dental care in St Pauls!

“We want to keep the current BUPA building which is owned by Sovereign Housing and all the current equipment in there to create a dental provision for NHS dental patients currently at BUPA St Paul’s that is closing on 30th June. We want to keep our local asset.”

In a tweet, a spokesperson for Barton Hill Activity Club said: “Why are most deprived areas lacking the basic necessities like dentists and pharmacies?

“We in Barton Hill have the same problem. The inequality is so visible. Something has to change…”

Councillor Tim Wye, said dental closures had a disproportionate impact on areas like St Paul’s.

“I absolutely support the protest and I was at the demo yesterday (as were all the councillors),” he said

“I have written to the NHS manager responsible for Dentists to ask them to do as much as they can to try and find a replacement to take over the NHS contracts.

“The way the Dental contract is constructed nationally means this is a country wide problem.

“Dentists with the bulk of their work through the NHS contract simply can’t run profitably and they are all businesses. This has a disproportionate effect on an area like St Paul’s where there are lots of people who can’t afford to go private.”

The local community has also launched a petition to save the centre, which is due to close on June 30.

Campaigners are appealing to the Integrated Care Board to ensure vulnerable residents have access to accessible and affordable dental care.

“The impact of this closure will have an adverse impact on the health and wellbeing of the thousands of people who use this dental practice, increase inequalities and remove accessibility to Dental Care,” said campaigners.

Main photo: Tara Miran

Read next:

• St Paul’s Adventure Playground to be closed for at least one month
• Touched by greatness: The history of St Paul’s forgotten cinema
• Demolition of former community centre begins ahead of site redevelopment

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