Swindon Residents Call for More Dentists
Residents in Swindon feel that there are not enough NHS dentists in the area, despite research from NHS Swindon showing that services are not being used to full capacity.
A survey conducted by Swindon Local Involvement Network (LINk) found that almost half of residents felt there were not enough dentists in the town and 12 percent of participants said that they had experienced trouble getting an appointment with an NHS dentist over the course of the last 12 months.
Despite the results of the Swindon LINk survey, NHS Swindon claims that there are enough dentists working in the area and urge people to find out about the services available to them. Research for a report, released in July by NHS Swindon, showed that services were not being used to full capacity and many practices in the area were taking on new patients.
Paul Clarke, assistant director of primary care commissioning at NHS Swindon said that there are enough dentists working in Swindon, but patients were not taking up the vacant places. There is currently no waiting list and two new practices have already opened this year, with another set to open by the end of the financial year.
The survey also found that 82 percent of those surveyed were happy with the service they received but almost half felt that the pricing system was confusing.
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