Warrington dental patients worry for the future as town practice goes private
Dental patients in Warrington say they are worried for the future after another practice in the town went private.
Appleton Park Dental covers a large part of the town but from March, it is only accepting private patients. Patients who previously had NHS dentists at the practice said they were upset and disappointed to hear the news and they are now anxious about being able to find a new dentist. Dental places are very limited and in some areas of the town, there are now no NHS dental surgeries.
Anna Brunskill said she was shocked to find out about the practice going private and is now worried about her son’s dental care, as she was recently told that he would need braces in the future.
Another patient, Peter Barlow, said that he ended up in A&E because he had an abscess and he couldn’t get an emergency dental appointment.
Dr Mansour Mirza, from Appleton Park Dental, said that the government needs to realise that the system is “chronically underfunded” and act immediately.
Local MP Andrew Carter called for “urgent action” to resolve the problem. Less than half of young people saw a dentist last year and people are finding it increasingly difficult to get an appointment with demand rising and fewer NHS dental places available.
Ministers have injected £50 million into NHS dental services to fund an additional 350,000 dental appointments nationally.
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