Stoke dental practice cancels appointments due to staff shortages
Patients at a dental practice in Stoke-on-Trent have had appointments cancelled recently due to staff shortages.
Milehouse Dental Practice has contacted some patients to cancel appointments, which were arranged months ago, leaving some wondering when they will be able to see a dentist again. The practice team has blamed staff shortages and ongoing pressures linked to Covid backlogs.
Patients have received texts cancelling check-ups with no certainty about when the appointments can be rescheduled. At present, the practice is unable to deliver check-ups for many because it doesn’t have sufficient staff to offer the appointments. It is understood that some staff have left and not been replaced.
Chief clinical officer at Rodericks Dental, Catherine Brady, apologised for the situation at Milehouse Dental Practice and said that like many other practices across the country, it had become increasingly difficult to recruit NHS dental staff while clearing backlogs and coping with a rise in the demand for appointments. Over 40 million appointments were lost during the pandemic and since restrictions ended, patients who haven’t seen a dentist for a long time have come forward for treatment. Access to NHS services has also been affected by recruitment issues, which are impacting practices around the UK.
Ms Brady added that the practice team is doing everything possible to ensure that patients who need complex or emergency treatment can access appointments, which means that at the moment, check-ups are not available. The practice is also trying to recruit more dentists and has urged patients to contact their local MPs to highlight the severity of the current dental access crisis.
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