Thurso MP Praises “Fantastic” New Dental Clinic
Thurso MP, John Thurso has praised the “fantastic” new dental clinic at Dunbar Hospital.
The clinic, which was officially opened by the MP last Friday, was described as a “fantastic facility” for local people and Mr Thurso added that it was “very much needed.”
The clinic was made possible by the innovative thinking of John Barry, a local dentist and businessman, who fought for new facilities as a result of shortages in the area. Mr Thurso said that access to dental services has been a problem in the area for several years, but the new clinic has provided a solution for local residents and they now have access to a state of the art dental centre, which cost £1.2 million to construct.
Two years ago, waiting lists for dental care were lengthy and growing by the day, but the opening of the Dunbar Hospital clinic has reduced the number of people who are waiting to register with a dentist significantly and health bosses are hoping to eliminate the waiting list completely in the near future. The clinic has also created 20 new jobs, which is important for the local economy.
Mr Barry said that around 4000 patients have already registered with the clinic and the staff team is hoping to process another 1000 patients in the coming months.
Four dentists work at the clinic, in addition to 15 other members of staff and a clinical dental technician.
Kay Rosie from Thurso was the first patient to be treated at the new clinic; she was invited for the official opening and said that she was very honoured to be the first patient in the dental chair.
The official opening ceremony was also attended by senior dental officer, Robbie Nicol and Cathy Lush, clinical dental manager at NHS Highland.
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