First NHS dentist for five years in seaside town

The practice said children and those in need of urgent care would be seen first

A new NHS dentist has opened in Mablethorpe - the first in the resort for five years.

Winsover Dental Care, which has started taking patients nine months later than planned, is offering routine NHS appointments.

The practice said children and those in need of urgent care would be seen first.

The town has been a dental desert since 2019, when the last practice offering routine appointments closed.

The service, commissioned by NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), had been due to open on 26 January, with hundreds of patients looking to register.

One woman previously told the BBC she had been living on soup, porridge and painkillers after one of her cats knocked her tooth loose in February.

Another said her friends had travelled as far as Leamington Spa, Leicester and North Yorkshire to see NHS dentists.

In June, the ICB said it was working with Winsover "to mobilise the service as quickly as possible", and announced this week that the surgery was open.

Sarah-Jane Mills, the ICB's director for primary care, said: "We are pleased that we have been able to bring routine dental services to Mablethorpe at a time when NHS dentistry is facing so many challenges.”

Staff at the new practice, which is based in the Marisco Medical Centre, urged people to be patient while they dealt with expressions of interest.

Clinical director Jimmey Palahey added: "We are looking forward to providing high quality NHS dental care in Mablethorpe and serving the community into the future."

Patients have been advised not to attend without an appointment.

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