NHS chiefs insist they are doing everything possible to improve access to dental services in North Yorkshire
NHS chiefs have insisted that they are doing everything within their means to improve access to dental services for patients in North Yorkshire.
At a recent meeting of the council’s health scrutiny committee, members raised grave concerns about the state of NHS dentistry in the region, with more and more patients struggling to get an appointment. NHS chiefs said that they are doing everything possible to try and recruit more dentists to work in the area but there is a shortage of dentists wanting to relocate and take up NHS contracts.
North Yorkshire has traditionally maintained a relatively stable dentistry market but in the last 12 months, more practices have switched to private treatment and it has become increasingly difficult to see an NHS dentist. Some of the remaining 100 contract holders in the county are only taking on new child patients and some are only offering NHS care for children if their parents pay for private dental care. It is estimated that around 8,000 people are currently on a waiting list.
Debbie Pattinson, NHS dentistry commissioner, explained that the situation was incredibly challenging at the moment because Covid-19 restrictions are limiting practice capacities to around 60%. Teams are prioritising patients with urgent needs and this means that backlogs for routine and non-urgent treatments are growing.
NHS practices are reluctant to take on additional patients while they are tackling backlogs and this is contributing to a shortage of appointments. Ms Pattinson stressed that the NHS is working tirelessly to identify solutions right across the country. There are plans to provide more out-of-hours services on Saturdays at bigger towns across the region and to launch school programmes to target inequality in the region.
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