Newcastle Emlyn dental practice to stop providing NHS treatment

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Patients registered with Emlyn Dental Practice in Newcastle Emlyn, Wales, will have to find an alternative NHS dental provider after it was confirmed the surgery would no longer offer NHS treatment from January 1st.

NHS patients at the practice have been sent a letter detailing plans for the cessation of NHS services and adding that the decision hadn’t been taken lightly and was largely due to difficulty recruiting additional dentists. More than 3,600 people will be affected and the news casts an uncertain future over NHS provision in the area. 

One patient who was contacted by the practice was advised to switch to a private family plan, which would cost £55 per month. A parent of three, the patient said the fee didn’t even cover any additional treatment and simply wasn’t affordable for the majority of people. 

The lack of NHS provision at Emlyn Dental practice could leave thousands of patients without access to an NHS dentist, with large parts of the Teifi Valley underserved. Some patients who have already tried to find a new dentist have been informed that there are no spaces or advised to join a waiting list. 

Jill Paterson, director of primary, community and long-term care at Hywel Dda health board, said that the board is working to identify potential solutions.

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