NHS access problems in Bradford prompt lively debate
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- Published: Tuesday, 11 October 2016 07:50
- Written by News Editor
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Problems accessing NHS dentistry in Bradford provoked a fiery discussion at a health scrutiny meeting which was prompted by a new Healthwatch report which found that 43% of adults and 30% of children surveyed did not have an NHS dentist and that many had struggled to find one. Some had even resorted to ‘DIY dentistry’, including home tooth extraction, while many others had ended up at A&E, the meeting heard.
Victoria Simmons, Healthwatch manager, said: “We know that there’s a problem in our district. We think the system needs to acknowledge that and work positively with us, and I would just like to reiterate the scale of the problem our report has uncovered.”
Committee members were told that no dental practice in the district was currently listed on the website NHS Choices as being able to take on adult NHS patients. Neil Coulter, senior primary care manager for NHS England in Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “If a practice does advertise on NHS Choices that they have access, they are very often overwhelmed.”
He said NHS England and partners such as Healthwatch had been looking at a pilot project to tackle the issue in the area, but NHS England had instead decided to wait until there was further evidence of the issue across Yorkshire, prompting some on the committee to accuse it of not dealing with the matter.
A spokesman for the Local Dental Network, which represents dentist practices, said: “From a Local Dental Network point of view, it looks like this problem is being kicked into some very long grass.”
Dental disaster in Bradford
This has been highlighted many times before - a combination of NO prevention, dental ignorance, high disease and capped dental budget that simply can't cope with need = worsening dental health and a desperate fire-fighting approach :(I suppose we will have to depend upon third-world dental charities to come to the rescue again :(
This simply mirrors centralised chaos and no proper National Dental Strategy, with excuse after excuse kicking the can down the road.
It's a national scandal and an International disgrace !!!
Yours very unimpressed,
Tony.
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