Fresh pain for Dumfries and Galloway NHS dental patients

No dentists in Dumfries and Galloway are accepting new NHS registrations

Nearly 2,000 more NHS patients are facing deregistration by their dental practice in Dumfries and Galloway.

There are currently no dentists in the region - which has a population of about 150,000 people - accepting new NHS registrations.

Now one of the two dentists at Great King Street Dental in Dumfries has decided to end the services for patients aged 18 and above.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway's director of dentistry Alison Milne said it meant they would now have to seek alternative provision.

"Unfortunately, many will be aware that there are no dentists within the region currently accepting new NHS registrations," she said.

"We fully recognise the frustration very likely to be felt by these patients, as experienced by many others who have faced a similar situation in recent years."

Director of public health Valerie White said there had been "some success" with a dental outreach programme for the region.

"The 12 places for dentists in training plus tutors and support makes NHS Dumfries and Galloway the biggest outreach dental training facility in Scotland," she said.

She said the students involved could offer a single course of treatment to patients not registered with an NHS dentist.

"However, while this is a very positive development, we know that this does not address the issue of providing people with regular, ongoing access to an NHS dentist," she said.

"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."

Nearly 2,000 patients will be deregistered by the dentist

South Scotland Labour MSP Colin Smyth said more people would be forced to travel outside the area for treatment.

"This is terrible news but sadly, no-one in our region will be remotely surprised that once again, thousands of people are losing their access to NHS dentistry," he said.

"NHS dentistry in Dumfries and Galloway has been, and remains, in crisis.

"Even more patients in Dumfries will now have to join many others across the region in either having to pay for private care or try to find another dentist that provides NHS care outwith the region."

He said unless the Scottish government took action it was "only a matter of time" before no adult in the region had NHS care.

'Responding well'

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "This is of course disappointing and we recognise that in some areas, particularly rural areas, access remains more challenging.

"We continue to make available a range of additional financial support locally and this helped in opening a new surgery in a Dumfries and Galloway practice which will support 1,500 new NHS registrations."

The spokesperson added that dental services were "responding well" to payment reform carried out nearly a year ago.

The Scottish government added it was "urgently engaging" with counterparts across the UK to look at how to increase dental workforce capacity.