Bury St Edmunds: Man travels 350 miles to see NHS dentist

An engineer travels 350 miles to access NHS dental care in Scotland

A man who found himself without an NHS dentist in Suffolk is now travelling more than 350 miles (570 km) to access treatment in Scotland.

Stewart Whitehill, 45, paid for private care at first after finding himself unregistered from his practice in Bury St Edmunds.

He now drives to South Lanarkshire for NHS appointments, coinciding it with visits to his parents' home nearby.

"It's a bit of a commute for a check-up," he said.

His circumstances emerged as Suffolk County Council's health scrutiny committee announced that extra evening and weekend appointments would be made available in larger practices for eight weeks from 1 February.

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Engineer Mr Whitehill said he spent more than £1,000 on private dentistry locally after he needed extensive periodontal treatment last year.

With regard to his NHS dentist, he told BBC Radio Suffolk: "When I had quite severe toothache, I tried to get an appointment and I was informed I'd been removed from their registration list.

"I wasn't aware of it."

His mother in Scotland contacted her own dentist for advice and a place was found for him there, he said.

"While it's great to have a dentist again, unfortunately with the pandemic, going up there regularly hasn't been possible, but at least I've managed to get someone," he said.

NHS dental provision is in crisis in Suffolk, campaigners say

Andy Yacoub, chief executive of Healthwatch Suffolk, said: "Nobody should feel that they must need to travel extreme distances to access the care and treatment they need.

"The absolute focus of those responsible for dental provision must be on ensuring our NHS services are providing the most basic levels of preventative treatment.

"It is only by improving access significantly, that we can hope to avoid further deterioration of the oral health of our local population."

In November, Dr Ed Garratt, from the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System, said he was "pretty ashamed" about the state of dental provision in Suffolk.

One dental practice in Stowmarket, which offers registration to new NHS patients, saw 250 people apply during a six-hour period this week, and more than 700 apply before Christmas.

A spokeswoman for the Tavern Street practice said the service had been "manic", with inquiries from across Suffolk, but priority was given to Stowmarket residents.

Mark Jones, campaign co-ordinator with Toothless in Suffolk, said it was not unusual to hear stories of patients who felt they were "struck off" NHS dentist lists and had to secure appointments much further afield.

"This is a very real crisis, it is incredibly upsetting for people," he said.

He said it was becoming common for people to seek NHS dental care outside Suffolk.

The group is calling on the NHS to "declare a health emergency" and is planning a national day of action for later in the year.