Council report highlights dental access shortfall in Calderdale
Councillors in Calderdale have compiled a report highlighting a shortage of NHS dental places.
Posing as an NHS dental patient looking for a place in the region, councillors found that only one practice was accepting new adult patients. Two local councillors took part in the ‘mystery shopping’ exercise before Christmas. They discovered that out of 17 NHS-only and five combined NHS and private practices, only one was taking on new NHS adult patients, with eight offering child places. Waiting times varied from a few weeks to over a year, with one practice stating that over 200 patients were waiting to register.
Councillor Marilyn Greenwood decided to take part in the investigation after hearing that a growing number of children under the age of 10 were having teeth extracted in hospital and learning that dental provision is an increasingly significant problem in the area. Having raised the issue at the council’s Health and Wellbeing Board meeting, Cllr Greenwood said that she was shocked at just how many people are missing out.
Dental experts recommend 6-monthly check-ups for children and 6-12 monthly checks for adults, but many people are struggling to get an appointment for routine care. The report also revealed that many parents are unaware of the availability of free NHS care for children. Cllr Sophie Whittaker explained that access is not the main concern for children, as there are NHS places available. The real problem is that parents are unable to register at the same practice as their children, and this makes life more difficult. More needs to be done to inform parents about the availability of free dental treatment and to encourage parents to take their child to the dentist from an early age
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