Skye Dental Patients Faced With 200 Mile Trip To Dentist
Some dental patients living on the Isle of Skye are facing a 200 mile round trip to see an NHS dentist due to a shortage of dentists on the island.
One in seven patients are currently on a waiting list to join an NHS practice, with those in need of treatment facing a lengthy trip to Fort William, Inverness or Dingwall, all of which are over 100 miles away.
More than 1,000 people on the island are waiting to register with an NHS practice and the situation is dire, despite the opening of a new NHS dental centre in Portree, which was opened to try and ease waiting times in the area.
NHS Highland said that waiting lists had been slowly increasing due to a severe shortage of dentists on the island; however, representatives are confident that problems will ease and waiting times will decrease in the coming months. There are currenty four surgeries on the island, including two serving the North and two located on the other side of the SkyeBridge, which serve the South.
Catriona Leslie, a patient from Portree, said that she had no choice but to register with a dental practice in Dingwall after her private dentist in Portree closed; she said she did not even bother to enquire about spaces on Skye because it is well-known that there is a long waiting list.
David Hearn, chairman of Portree and Braes Community Council, admitted that dental access was a major issue on the island, despite the fact that the new £1.2 million dental clinic in Portree has made a difference.
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