Emergency dental clinic to close in Kidderminster
An emergency dental clinic, which provides out of hours urgent care for patients in Kidderminster, is set to close.
The clinic, which currently operates from Kidderminster Health Centre, will shut on 1st April. From the beginning of April, patients who require urgent assistance will be advised to make use of a new system. A new service has been launched in Redditch and there are also clinics based in Coventry, Dudley and Wolverhampton. The existing out of hours centres in Evesham and Worcester will also close.
NHS England representatives have made changes to the current system to make it more efficient and to focus resources in more densely populated areas. The new service should ensure that no patient is more than an hour away from an urgent care centre, with many able to access centres on their doorsteps.
Nuala Woodman, from NHS England and Improvement, explained that the new system will provide telephone advice for dealing with pain, as well as connecting patients with support services in their local area.
Under new guidelines, which are designed to make the emergency system easier to use, patients who have a dental emergency are encouraged to call NHS 111 or use the details provided on the NHS 111 website. If a patient requires treatment, they will be directed to their nearest urgent care centre.
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