7 Staff Members Made Redundant After Devon Dental Surgery Closes Suddenly
Seven members of staff from a dental practice in East Devon have been made redundant. The dental team from Queen Street Dental Practice, Budleigh Salterton, were only given three days notice regarding the closure.
NHS England informed the staff members that the practice would close on the 31st January, but gave no reasons. The clinic had previously been run by dentist Abdul-Basit Booley, but he left the country to move to Texas in September and had arranged for fellow dentist, Dimitri Haddjeri, to take over the reigns. The practice had approximately 1,700 NHS patients and hundreds of private patient, and they will now have to find another dentist.
Mr Booley confirmed the closure of the clinic and issued a statement saying that he was extremely disappointed and upset to be leaving the dental industry in the UK in such a way, but felt that his position was untenable and highlighted the daily stresses and strains of life as an NHS dentist.
Mr Haddjeri said that he had tried his best to work with NHS England to save the practice and was incredibly sad to let the community and the rest of the dental team down. He added that his main worries are the future of the dental team, which has worked tirelessly to try and prevent the closure.
NHS England is currently working with local dental practices to make arrangements for the patients listed with Queen Street Dental Practice.
Head of primary care at NHS Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Julia Cory, said that it was incredibly disappointing to lose a dentist at such short notice and confirmed that the health body is doing everything it can to find alternative arrangements for patients.
Anybody who requires information about practices in the area is advised to call the Dental Helpline on 01392 822 348 or email devondentalhelpline.nhs.net.
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