Thornhill residents face Christmas chaos as another dental practice stops NHS services
Residents in Thornhill are facing Christmas chaos after it was confirmed that another dental practice is stopping NHS services.
Just weeks after the team at a clinic in Castle Douglas announced the cessation of NHS care, patients at Thornhill Dental Practice have been told that no NHS appointments will be available from December 24th. Up to 10,000 patients in Dumfries and Galloway will be affected by the changes at the two practices.
The decision to stop NHS care at the Thornhill practice will impact 3,800 adults, many of whom cannot afford to pay for private dentistry. The change in provision at Gardenhill Dental Clinic in Castle Douglas will leave over 4,000 patients without access to NHS treatment.
Alison Milne, interim director of dentistry at the local health board, explained that a lack of dentists working within the NHS is “a key issue” and suggested that the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. She described the announcement from Thornhill Dental Practice as “very bad news” for local people but stressed that the health board was doing everything possible to encourage dentists to continue providing NHS care.
News of changing services in Castle Douglas and Thornhill comes after a dental practice in Gretna recently confirmed that it would be switching to private dentistry only, leaving more than 2,000 patients without an NHS dentist.
Practices across Scotland and other parts of the UK are experiencing difficulties recruiting and retaining NHS dentists, which is making it increasingly challenging to get an appointment.
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