Concerns have been raised with health bosses over the ‘thousands of people’ in Gedling borough with little or no access to an NHS dentist.
Councillor Henry Wheeler, who represents Gedling on the county’s health board, asked for a report to be created over funding of local dentist practices after large numbers of patients in the borough complained to him about lack of access to services.
Mr Wheeler said that GPs in the area were being impacted as patients turned to them for pain relief to help cope with ongoing dental problems.
The report was created for Mr Wheeler by deputy head of Primary Care East Midlands NHS England and NHS Improvement Liz Gundel and answers questions that were raised about funding and access to dental care in the borough.
The report said pointed out that local practices had been heavily impacted by the recent pandemic and that although things are improving, it’s still not yet ‘business as usual’.
The report said: “Although face to face services have resumed in all practices, NHS dental practices are working at a much lower capacity as they are following social distancing and hygiene rules as per the national guidelines set by Public Health England, to ensure the safety of both our clinical colleagues and patients.
“Since dental services began reopening in June 2020 there have been steady improvements in access, as changes in infection prevention and control guidance, provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) and processes and procedures become more familiar to dental teams and patients. But it is not yet business as usual.
“NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI) support the full resumption of routine dental care, in a way that is safe, operationally deliverable and allows dental practices flexibility to do what is best for patients and their teams.
“NHSEI can also categorically confirm that dental funding has remained in place, with all contractors receiving 100% of their regular monthly contractual payments, throughout the pandemic. Additional funding has been deployed across the Midlands region to provide additional access to services for patients outside of regular hours (at evenings and weekends) to try and mitigate the challenges posed as a result of the necessitated reduction in routine dentistry capacity.”
“Practices are being asked to see all regular and non-regular patients (historically referred to as registered patients), where they can accommodate. There are limited routine appointments available as this is dependent on the capacity of each practice, following treating any urgent patients.
“This can mean that even patients who (before the pandemic) would regularly attend a dental practice, are currently only able to be seen in practice if they meet the criteria for safely accessing an urgent face to face appointment.”
The report went on to say that the NHSEI now hoped to see an increase in capacity for patients across the borough.
It read: “NHSEI is monitoring and supporting providers across the region, working collaboratively with the Local Dental Committee and other stakeholders to increase capacity, provide continued access to dental services and to ensure the safe recovery and restoration of NHS dentistry following the Covid-19 pandemic.”
But despite the reassurances, Councillor Wheeler wants urgent action to reduce pressure being seen in other NHS areas as a result of the backlog of patients.
Councillor Wheeler told Gedling Eye: “It is very important that people can access dental care, which is why I asked for clarity on funding and access to dental care in Gedling borough following concerns raised that thousands of people in the Borough couldn’t access dental care”.
“Dentists have had to prioritise urgent work over routine inspections and non-urgent treatment.”
“However the backlog for treatment is leading to people falling back onto their GPs for pain relief or going to A&E and this needs to be addressed urgently as part of a wider and adequately funded local NHS Covid recovery plan”.
Patients in the borough experience difficulties in accessing specific services, or wish to make a complaint should contact the NHS England Customer Contact Centre on 0300 311 22 33 or www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/ for further assistance.
A spokesman said: “Raising issues through the Customer Care Centre enables a full investigation to take place so we are then better positioned to assist complaints in addressing their specific concerns and issues.”
