Plans have been unveiled for a new free dental surgery in East London that could treat more than 5,000 patients
Plans have been unveiled for a new free dental surgery in East London that could treat more than 5,000 patients in one of the UK’s worst-affected areas for oral health. A new, free dentist surgery could open in Barking town centre if council leaders approve funding next week. Queen Mary University wants to open a training surgery in Maritime House, Linton Road, which Barking and Dagenham Council owns.
Its application for council funding says the surgery will give primary dental care “to those who need it the most and who cannot currently gain access”. Council leaders are set to agree to lease the ninth and tenth floors of Maritime House to the university at a cabinet meeting next week.
Plans being presented to the cabinet say the surgery will train 130 dental students a year, while providing 5,200 patients with dental care “free at the point of use”.
They say it will give “year-round community based primary dental and urgent care appointments, connecting dental students to under-served communities in Barking and Dagenham”.
Council leaders are also set to award £4.1million in funding to the university to fit-out the surgery. The money would come from contributions paid to the council by property developers as part of planning obligations.
In its application for the funding, Queen Mary University says dental disease and access to care in Barking and Dagenham “are among the worst in the country”.
It says there is a “significant shortage of access to NHS dentistry across the UK”. The university says the new facility would provide care to “patients who currently have no access”, prioritising people from Barking and Dagenham.
It says people who will benefit include those from “migrant communities, experiencing homelessness, looked after children, those who are ex-offenders,” and “the digitally excluded” – people with limited access to the internet.
Additionally, council leaders are also set to agree to borrow £4.6m to refurbish and repair the exterior of Maritime House.
The council bought the building for £19m in 2022. Papers presented to the cabinet say the council knew at the time it would have to carry out the repairs.
It thought these would cost £550,000 to be repaid over ten years through tenants’ service charges. But more in-depth inspections have found “the extent of the repairs is greater than originally anticipated”.
The council also expected to receive gross annual rent from tenants of £1.3m.
However, the building is more than 50% empty, meaning the council only collects £647,000 a year. It says that after running and borrowing costs it makes a loss of £661,000.
Papers presented to the cabinet say the lease of the ninth and tenth floors to Queen Mary University depends on the council carrying out the external repairs.
The cabinet is set to discuss and approve the lease and funding on Tuesday, 11th November.
Keep up with the latest East London news. Sign up to our MyEastLondon newsletter HERE for daily updates and more.
