I BEGAN the week by resuming the work of our North Cornwall Dental Action Group, attending a meeting in Wadebridge to discuss the ongoing dental crisis affecting so many residents.

We explored practical ways to improve access, including expanding the use of mobile dental units and working with organisations like Smile Together ,who, following my meeting with them, brought their mobile van to North Cornwall for the first time. I'm hoping this service can be expanded to other towns and villages in North Cornwall.

What I’m hearing from many of you is deeply concerning. Constituents are facing unacceptably long waiting lists, often enduring significant pain while trying to access care. This is affecting both children and adults across North Cornwall. It’s clear to me that the current system is not working, which is why I continue to call for urgent reform of NHS dental contracts. I would strongly encourage you to support our NHS dental petition via the North Cornwall Liberal Democrats website, your voice matters, and together we can push for the change that’s needed.

I also had the opportunity to sit down with the Patient Participation Group from the Wadebridge and

Camel Estuary Practice, as well as local GPs, to hear directly about the pressures facing primary care. These conversations are vital in ensuring that we fully understand the challenges on the ground and can advocate effectively for improvements.

I welcomed the Liberal Democrat GP guarantee announcement to ensure all housing developments come with new or expanded GP surgeries. This pressing need for surgeries to meet demand is being felt right across North Cornwall, where some surgeries are operating at 160 per cent capacity and thousands of new houses have already been approved.

Having brought my ‘Infrastructure First’ Bill to Parliament in July 2025 I'll keep working hard to deliver the GP provision North Cornwall badly needs.

Later in the week, I held a constituency surgery in Wadebridge. It was invaluable to speak directly with residents about the issues affecting them, from the challenges facing local businesses to ongoing difficulties with access to banking services. If you have something you’d like to raise, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with my team, we’re here to help and to listen.

There were also some lighter moments. I really enjoyed spending time at a gardening session in Launceston. It was great to get involved in brightening up the space with some fresh planting, small changes like this can make a real difference to how our towns feel.

Looking ahead, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the upcoming devolution bill. It’s crucial that Cornwall gets a deal that reflects our unique identity and needs, we must not be grouped into arrangements that don’t work for Kernow.

Finally, I visited Bodmin Keep Museum, one of our fantastic local heritage sites. It was inspiring to see the progress they are making as they move towards greater independence, working hard to become more financially self-sustaining.