Isle of Wight's dire dental crisis worsening, council hears

Councillor Michael Lilley said NHS dental services in Newport and Ryde were closing

An island's "dire" NHS dentist shortage is worsening, a council has heard.

Two services in Newport and Ryde are being closed to NHS patients, the Isle of Wight's health scrutiny committee was told.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) told councillors the issue would take years to fix.

Natasha Taplin, from the ICB, said a previously-announced dental bus, arriving in January, was among "sticking plaster" solutions.

She said: "Workforce is our single biggest issue. It is difficult to attract dentists to the island.

"It is difficult to make NHS dentistry on the island an attractive proposition."

A dental bus was offered to Hampshire patients in 2012

Ms Taplin said the ICB, which took over control of island dentistry from NHS England a year ago, hoped to improve the "patchy and sparse" provision of NHS services.

She said the bus for vulnerable groups, extra dental activity and changes next year to inconsistent fees could help to stabilise the situation.

However, she said: "Those are just sticking plasters so what is the next thing, what do we do to build viable NHS dentistry on the island?

"There are some workshops that involve providers and that's about finding the solutions together."

MyDentist's branch in Ryde is going private while its Newport site will close in January, committee chairman Michael Lilley said.

He said he was concerned targeted action had taken place on the mainland but not on the island, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.