Two-year wait for specialist NHS dental services

The waiting time for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight specialist service is more than two years

People with special needs are having to wait more than two years for access to a region's NHS dental service, a health watchdog has said.

An Isle of Wight Council committee met last week and heard wait times for the NHS Special Care Dental Service were "really worrying".

The service, run by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, provides specialised care for people with additional needs who cannot receive care in a general dental setting.

The NHS said it was aware of the delays and was supporting the island's orthodontic provider to recruit another dentist.

Healthwatch Isle of Wight manager Joanna Smith told the committee many people with "quite complex needs" had been "struggling to access that service".

Those that can be assisted by the service include children who have profound learning difficulties, mental health conditions or severe physical disabilities and adults with a severe disability, medical, physical or mental health condition, according to the trust.

NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight primary care director James Roach said: "One of the things we are doing is getting a more regular track on waiting times now from the provider.

"So, we have a regular meeting in terms of total waiting list, those waiting over a period of time and how they're prioritised."

Mr Roach said the trust was also putting additional resources into professional development for staff, as well as extra resources for "looked after children, patients with clinical vulnerabilities and patients who might require a more specialist follow-up in a different setting".