Two new dental practices to open in city

Herefordshire and Worcestershire ranks lowest in the West Midlands for new patients seen in a 24-month period, according to the local NHS

Two new dental practices are to open in Hereford this spring, as the NHS looks to reverse a decline in dentistry locally.

With the exception of specialist care, no dentists in Herefordshire are currently taking new NHS patients.

Together, Herefordshire and Worcestershire are currently ranked the lowest in the West Midlands for NHS dental activity. NHS commissioners say they have a plan to improve access.

The expansion comes as a dentist in Worcester has announced he is to stop NHS work from the beginning of February.

While no opening date has been announced for the new practices, Herefordshire & Worcestershire’s Integrated Care Board (ICB) said they should start delivering services for patients between April and June.

37,000 units of dental activity (UDA) have been commissioned by the ICB, which took on responsibility for dentistry last year.

Three UDAs are the equivalent of an examination and single filling - one dentist told the BBC they carry out 6,000 to 8,000 UDAs in a year.

“We’re really keen to get those dental practices open… Just getting the premises sorted is the final hurdle,” said Simon Trickett, ICB chief executive.

Access to NHS dental services has deteriorated over the last decade: per head of population the two counties receive a lower level of funding than other parts of the West Midlands.

However, with dental providers reluctant to take on new patients due to low rates of pay, NHS commissioners said they were actually on track for a “significant underspend” this year.

“We’re not even spending the money we’ve got… we’re going to need a whole load of new, innovative approaches to commissioning,” Simon Trickett said.

'We can't afford private healthcare'

Plans are also being developed to procure extra NHS dental work in Worcestershire.

Earlier this month, one of the dentists at Gentle Dental, a practice in Worcester, announced he would stop taking NHS patients from the beginning of February.

“Increasingly, it is a struggle to balance NHS capacity with demand,” Dr Abu Sadikot told patients in a letter.

“I no longer feel I can provide the level of dental care you have come to expect and deserve with my current working arrangements… I have opted out of providing NHS dentistry for all my patients”.

The decision has left his patients with the choice of paying to go private, or trying to find a place at one of the few dental practices still taking on new NHS work.

Claire Main's family have had to find a new dentist, after their existing practice in Worcester said it was stopping NHS work

“We can’t afford private healthcare, but they were sending people to Redditch, Evesham and Kidderminster,” said nursery worker and mother of two Claire Main.

Both her teenage son and daughter are currently receiving orthodontic treatment.

She said she was “extremely lucky” to have found a place at a new dentist, but feared other patients would be unable to stay on the NHS.

“So many people are struggling to get an NHS dentist. Eventually they’re just going to give up completely and try doing work on their own teeth.

"They’re going to end up at the hospital and put more pressure on the NHS”.