Dental Waiting Lists a Problem in Bolton
5,000 people are waiting to see a dentist in Bolton, it has been revealed.
There has been an increase of three thousand people waiting for treatment compared with eighteen months ago and patients are faced with a minimum wait of three months for an appointment.
Health bosses abandoned a central waiting list in April and patients who did not have a practice were encouraged to contact local practices to see if they were taking on new patients; however, it has since been revealed that 5,000 people are without a dentist.
Health bosses have invested around £50,000 into dental services since January this year to reduce waiting lists. At the time, the waiting list contained around 7,000 names with an average wait of 8 months for an appointment.
Patients that are still waiting for treatment have been contacted by the Clinical Commissioning Group, which has assumed control of Bolton’s health services from NHS Bolton. Patients were advised to get in touch with their local practice to arrange an appointment; however, Peter Moss, chairman of the Local Dental Committee, said that problems would remain in Bolton and the rest of the country as a result of the fact that the dental contract that came into force in 2006 will be in place until 2015.
Mr Moss said that the contract is flawed because it encourages dentists to keep hold of their existing patients, rather than taking on new NHS patients; he branded the situation “completely and utterly ridiculous.”
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