Northumberland residents anxious as future of NHS dental practice remains uncertain

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Residents in Northumberland are feeling uneasy after it was revealed that an NHS dental practice in the region could close.

Patients who are currently registered with Coquetdale Dental Practice are facing an uncertain future after it was confirmed that discussions were underway to determine whether or not the practice will close. The clinic, which is located at Broomhill Health Centre in Hadston, is owned by Simon Francis. Mr Francis also owns a surgery in Rothbury.

Mr Francis is concerned about keeping the Hadston clinic open because he fears that it will not be viable to maintain the surgery due to falling patient numbers and a high number of no-shows.

A consultation about the future of the clinic is now underway. Local councillor, Scott Dickinson, is worried that local people will be unable to access to NHS services without travelling to neighbouring towns and villages, but Mr Francis is concerned about the viability of keeping a practice open when patient numbers are declining.

Mr Francis has written to local people to invite them to share their ideas and comment on the situation. He proposes to provide services solely from his Rothbury clinic and wants to know how local people would feel about this situation if he did decide to close the Hadston branch. Mr Francis has recently been unwell, and this has led him to consider making changes, which would involve spending all his time in Rothbury, rather than travelling from Rothbury to Hadston. The cost of running the surgery at Broomhill is high and teamed with falling patient numbers and a high number of no-shows, the future looks rather bleak for the Hadston clinic. For those who don’t want to travel to Rothbury, there are currently 13 other surgeries accepting new NHS patients within a 17-mile radius around Hadston village.

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