Leyland Prisoners Facing Lengthy Wait For Dental Treatment
Waiting times for dental care at Wymott Prison in Leyland are too long, according to the Care Quality Commission.
Inspectors from the watchdog, which is responsible for ensuring that health and dental care providers meet guidelines for care, cleanliness and professional conduct, visited the prison as part of a wider project, which looks into healthcare for inmates, on the 30th June and 1st July.
Although the prison satisfied most of the criteria, inspectors found that prisoners were waiting too long to see GPs and dentists. A report has now been filed and published.
According to the report, some prisoners were waiting up to 8 weeks to see a GP, while the wait for dental visits was up to 21 weeks. One prisoner who was questioned by the CQC inspectors said that it was unacceptable to have to wait for treatment, while another said that he had waited 5 weeks to get to see a GP after finding out he has a lump in one of his testicles.
The report also revealed that some of the appointments and GP visit requests were not triaged.
A spokesman for the local trust, Lancashire Care Foundation, said that the most recent report flagged up two main areas of concern. The trust has since employed a triage nurse and this has helped to reduce waiting times to see a GP. He also added that the trust will endeavour to find solutions to the issues of access to health and dental care and will prioritise patient health and well being.
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