1000 Stranraer NHS Dental patients set to be deregistered
According to a recent article, around 1,000 patients at a dental practice in Stranraer have been deregistered.
Patients have been notified of termination of services at the 21 St. John Street dental practice, according to NHS Dumfries and Galloway. According to the above article, patients who have appointments outstanding and unfinished courses of treatment will have their treatment honoured.
No further appointments for routine dental care will be carried out at the practice… though helpfully it does add that private dental plans will be available.
An NHS spokesperson has gone on record to acknowledge this development:
“The situation regarding access to NHS dental services in Dumfries and Galloway is a significant concern and one the board is taking very seriously.
“We continue work to encourage and support dentists to provide NHS general dental services and are working closely with Scottish Government colleagues on these matters.
“However, lack of dentists coming to work in the region is a key issue, and challenges in dental workforce is being seen across the UK.”
My two penneth
When I read this article, I missed the twelve word sentence casually slipped in there which adds that private dental work will still be available at the practice.
There are insufficient dentists in the area to treat NHS patients, but not so few that they can’t deal with their private patients, or indeed – offer private dental care plans going forward!
I would sincerely hope that the patients who have yet to have the remainder of their treatment honoured will be given a) the quality of care afforded to private patients in the practice, and b) a place where they can be referred to which is onboarding new NHS patients.
Through no fault of their own, people who cannot afford it may lose their overall continuity of care and be unable to afford to seek out emergency treatment for fear of having to face private dental fees in the short or even medium to long term.
I would also have concerns about the possibility of dental negligence occurring, either in the wrapping up of existing treatments or in cases where something goes wrong down the line after services have terminated.
All in all, this is worrying news for dental patients in Stranraer – as many of us know how difficult it is to find a practice that is taking on new NHS clients in normal circumstances, let alone one where a large number of people will be seeking a new dentist at the same time.
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