Rebecca Curtayne: key facts
- Kind of voice
- Sector leader
- Role
- Head of Public Affairs at Healthwatch England
- Quoted on
- Dentistry access, Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
- Tracked press citations
- 5
- Most recently quoted
- 30 Sept 2026
- First quoted
- 27 Aug 2026
“These figures reflect what people across the country tell us - many cannot get an NHS dental appointment and others find their dentist has stopped providing NHS care altogether and now only offers private treatment.”
What Rebecca Curtayne has said
“It's a constant source of frustration, anxiety and distress. Too many on low incomes are being forced into private care they struggle to afford or are going without treatment altogether.”
acting head of policy at Healthwatch England · Dentistry access · 30 Sept 2026 · NHS dentistry is rotting. Will the plan to fix it work? ↗
“they too have concerns with people reporting private dentistry is 'too expensive'. She says people in deprived and rural areas are disproportionately affected as they tend to have the poorest access to NHS care and are least likely to be able to afford private fees.”
Healthwatch England, patient watchdog · Dentistry access · 30 Sept 2026 · 'I spent uni savings on getting my teeth fixed' - the real cost of NHS dentist shortage ↗
“Our findings are a warning that for some people there's only one-tier dental care – private. It's the most vulnerable people in our society who bear the brunt of the ongoing shortage of NHS dental appointments.”
Healthwatch England's acting head of policy, public affairs and research · Dentistry access · 10 Sept 2026 · Almost a third of people in England use private dentists amid NHS dental crisis ↗
“People rely on their local pharmacy for timely advice and essential medication, so cuts to weekend opening hours are very worrying. We are already hearing from people about longer journeys to find an open pharmacy, particularly in rural areas, and this creates real difficulties for those with limited mobility or no access to transport.”
Head of Public Affairs at Healthwatch England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Patients face long journeys for medicines as pharmacies cut weekend hours ↗
Where Rebecca Curtayne has been quoted
- Dentists return £900m after failing to see NHS patientsbbc.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
- NHS dentistry is rotting. Will the plan to fix it work?bbc.com · 30 Sept 2026
- 'I spent uni savings on getting my teeth fixed' - the real cost of NHS dentist shortagebbc.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Almost a third of people in England use private dentists amid NHS dental crisistheguardian.com · 10 Sept 2026
- Patients face long journeys for medicines as pharmacies cut weekend hourstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
Related media coverage
Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.
Chief executives, directors and spokespeople of trade bodies, representative associations and charities speaking for the sector. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. This profile was last updated on 5 Oct 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.