Durness Residents Facing 100 Mile Round Trip To Dentist
The residents of Durness village are appearing for a new surgery to open, as they face a 112 mile round trip to see an NHS dentist.
Almost half of the residents of the rural village in Sutherland have signed a petition to appeal for a new NHS surgery to open in Durness, as residents are unhappy about the journey they have to make to see an NHS dentist. One resident was so eager to avoid the 56 mile trip to Lairg that they underwent dental treatment without anaesthetic.
On average, residents are forking out £80 on fuel to drive to and from the Lairg surgery and almost 200 people have signed the petition.
The NHS withdrew part-time dental services in Durness and Tongue, which is located 29 miles away because officials were having difficulty recruiting dentists who were willing to travel to cover the area.
Kevin Crowe, chairman of Lairg Community Council said that information gathered by the council confirms that it is not possible to get public transport from Durness to Lairg and this means that drivers have to take time off work and people who do not have a car are forced to ask somebody to give them a lift. Mr Crowe said that the most shocking thing about the situation was that one patient had chosen to undergo treatment without anaesthetic because they could not make it to Lairg to see the dentist.
A spokeswoman for NHS Highland said that it was well-documented that villagers in the Highlands are forced to travel for dental treatment; she added that although there are significant challenges to reintroducing the services, the issues will be explored and discussed to see if anything can be done to make dental care more accessible to the people of Durness.
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