Nearly 2,000 NHS dentist patients set to be deregistered in Dumfries
Nearly 2,000 NHS patients are set to be de-registered by a dental practice in Dumfries.
Great King Street Dental, one of two dentists in Dumfries, says they have made the decision to end NHS services for their patients aged 18 and above.
Letters providing a three-month notice period has been issued to patients, as a result of the terms set out within regulations to provide NHS dental services.
Director of Dentistry Alison Milne says patients will need to seek alternative provision.
She said: “Unfortunately, many will be aware that there are no dentists within the region currently accepting new NHS registrations.
“We fully recognise the frustration very likely to be felt by these patients, as experienced by many others who have faced a similar situation in recent years.”
Director of Public Health Valerie White said: “We have seen some success recently through the expansion of the dental outreach programme for the region.
“The 12 places for dentists in training plus tutors and support makes NHS Dumfries and Galloway the biggest outreach dental training facility in Scotland.
“These undergraduate students are able to offer a single course of treatment to patients who are not currently registered with an NHS dentist, with treatment free of charge, and the waiting list for this is currently open and accepting new patients.
“However, while this is a very positive development, we know that this does not address the issue of providing people with regular, ongoing access to an NHS dentist.
“We continue work to encourage and support dentists to provide NHS general dental services and are working closely with Scottish Government colleagues on these matters.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “This is of course disappointing and we recognise that in some areas, particularly rural areas, access remains more challenging. We continue to make available a range of additional financial support locally and this helped in opening a new surgery in a Dumfries and Galloway practice which will support 1500 new NHS registrations.
“Almost one year on from dental payment reform, NHS dental services are responding well to the changes with the latest figures showing over 1 million courses of treatment were delivered to patients in the quarter ending June 2024.
“We are urgently engaging with our counterparts across the UK on the actions required to enhance access to services through increased dental workforce capacity, including improved international pipelines.”
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