New report suggests patients in England could be waiting up to 3 years for a dental appointment
A new report suggests that patients in England could be waiting up to three years to get a dental appointment.
A report released by Healthwatch England indicates that some patients could be waiting until 2024 to see a dentist. Some surgeries have waiting lists with thousands of names on and many patients have reported being offered private treatment instead of NHS appointments to reduce waiting times.
The report outlines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and contains case studies and patient stories, including one individual who overdosed on painkillers and ended up in hospital as a result of struggling to cope with severe dental pain.
The latest research conducted by Healthwatch England highlights multiple issues, which are contributing to a dental crisis across the country. The main points include patients being removed from practice lists, cancelled appointments even when patients are part-way through treatment, dental practices closing or going private and practices prioritising private care over NHS treatment. In some cases, patients have been advised to wait up to three years to see a dentist with waits for emergency care up to 6 weeks.
In addition, there has been an increase in antibiotic prescription for patients dealing with pain without processes in place to ensure follow-up appointments.
As part of their research, representatives from Healthwatch England analysed data related to 1,375 patient experiences, which were shared with local branches.
In light of the findings, Healthwatch England has called for the government to take urgent action to help patients and dentists who are struggling to keep up with the demand for appointments.
A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said that the government was “committed to supporting the dental sector throughout this unprecedented pandemic” and added that nearly 17 million courses of dental treatment were provided free of charge to help the most vulnerable in 2019/2020.
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