Almost 4,000 Patients Waiting to Register with an NHS Dentist in Exeter
Nearly 4,000 patients are waiting to register with an NHS dentist in Exeter, it has been revealed.
Just 12 months ago, there were only 850 patients on the waiting list, but new statistics suggest that the figure has increased by five times in the last year.
Although figures are particularly alarming in Exeter, there have also been significant increases in waiting times in other parts of Devon. In East Devon, the waiting list has increased from 120 individuals to 560, while in Mid Devon, 370 people are waiting to register with a dentist, compared to 113 a year ago.
Head of primary care for the South West, NHS England’s Julia Cory said the trust is working hard to resolve issues with access to NHS dental services in Exeter. which have arisen as a result of increased demand for services. At present, the trust is working through waiting lists to determine whether or not all patients are still waiting to join an NHS dental practice. There are also plans to reform the dental contract on a national scale, which will hopefully help to free up places and improve access to dental care. Ms Cory also added that the trust is trying to make more NHS dental places available in the coming months.
The trust is working with local dental providers to ensure that practices are fulfilling their contracted requirements and identify ways of improving the efficiency of current contracts to increase places.
Ben Pearson, principal dentist and owner of Life Dental and Wellbeing in Exeter, said that his practice has been unable to accept any new patients in the last 12 months because there simply isn’t capacity to offer more places.
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