Bolton Children May Be Forced To Travel For Hospital Dental Treatment
Children who require dental treatment in hospital may be forced to travel for care as a result of a shake-up in theatre services at the Royal Bolton Hospital.
At the moment, children who require treatment under general anaesthetic use the eye theatres at the hospital, but the health board has revealed plans to expand eye care services at the hospital and this means that more children will be forced to travel further afield for dental treatment.
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has announced plans to extend eye care provision at the hospital; in March the trust issued NHS England with a 6 month notice period to find alternative arrangements for dental patients, but this has since been extended to December.
Dentists in the area are angered by the decision, which they feel will put children from deprived areas at a disadvantage. Chairman of Bolton Local Dental Committee, Peter Moss, said that although it is the trust’s right to make such a decision, it has come as a shock to local dentists and it is a big disappointment that such important services will no longer be available in the centre of Bolton.
Mr Moss said that in the majority of cases of decay, the disease is linked to deprivation and poverty and these children will be let down; as a result of the changes, they will be forced to travel away from the borough. Dentists are also worried that they only heard about the planned changes through a whistleblower.
A spokesman for NHS England in Manchester said that discussions are underway to find alternative operating theatres at the current site and if this was not possible, alternative arrangements will be made to ensure that patients face minimal disruption.
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