Dental Access Centre closure leaves patients in the dark

Sample News Big

Lincoln’s Dental Access Centre is set to close on the 31st May, yet no announcement has been made regarding alternative facilities for emergency dental patients.

The Dental Access Centre has been treating emergency patients for ten years; it offers care for those that don’t have an NHS dentist and those than can’t get emergency treatment from their own dentist.

In February, NHS Lincolnshire announced that the centre will close at the end of May; NHS representatives say that a decline in numbers has indicated that the centre is no longer needed, with a recent increase in NHS dental practices meaning that the majority of patients can access emergency care from their NHS dentist.

The announcement has angered some local people, including David Kirwan, a representative from healthcare union, Unison; Mr Kirwan has repeatedly written to NHS Lincolnshire to ask about alternative arrangements for emergency patients, but has yet to receive a reply to his questions. Without the Dental Access Centre, which Mr Kirwan has described as a kind of “A&E department for teeth”, he believes people will struggle to get emergency dental treatment.

It is believed that NHS Lincolnshire plans to arrange for a number of new NHS practices in the area to offer emergency dental care. Services will be offered to both registered NHS patients and patients that don’t have a dentist.

NHS Lincolnshire has said it will write a letter to respond to Mr Kirwan’s questions today.

Join this Discussion

June 24th, 2010 at 08:47 PM
Jessica Hamilton Says :

I have to admit, im really upset about this closure as i am currently half way through a number of treatments and have been left completely in the dark!

Is it possible to transfer my fees across to another dentist seeing as they havent completed their job? They also promised that once all my treatment was over they would sort me out with another dentist so i am currently without dentist and in a lot of pain..

What a massive let down.