NHS takes bite out of waiting list as dental patients sign up

Published on Wednesday 28 May 2008 10:22

MORE patients are managing to register with NHS dentists in the Lothians as the waiting-list crisis shows signs of easing.

New figures show that in Edinburgh, just over half of all adults and more than three-quarters of children had been able to register with a public-sector dentist by the end of last year.

It is a boost for the Scottish Government, which has provided various incentives to try and lure practitioners to the NHS.

The Scottish Government statistics show the percentage of registered patients in both Edinburgh and Lothian as a whole rising steadily throughout last year.

However, health chiefs still have their work cut out – an Evening News investigation in March, found that only nine out of a sample 60 practices called were willing to take people on, including one which was planning to go private within six months.

The number of public-sector dentists working in the region has also officially reached an all-time high, but these figures include practitioners not always counted prior to 2005, when the data was collated in a different way.

The most recent figures show that 496 dentists working in the NHS Lothian area in September 2007.

Colwyn Jones, consultant in dental public health at NHS Lothian, said the group was committed to the service: "There has been a steady increase in the number of dentists providing NHS dentistry over recent years, reflecting the commitment of NHS Lothian to providing this important service to members the public.

"With the assistance of the Scottish Government, we have been able to invest, and will continue to provide improved access to NHS dental care for everyone."

He added: "We are working closely with our general dental practitioner colleagues, and in December 2007 NHS Lothian had increased the number of children registered with an NHS dentist.

"Lothian has over three quarters of our children registered with an NHS dentist, significantly above the Scottish figure of 71.7 per cent."

The proportion of patients registered with an NHS dentist in the Lothians rose to 52.2 per cent by December, following a dip in 2006 and early 2007.

At the same time the percentage of registered children rose to 75.5, the first time it had passed the three-quarters mark since before 2000.

Shona Robison, Minister for Public Health, said: "I am pleased that there have been increases in both child and adult dental registrations in the last quarter. However, we know there are still problems with access to an NHS dentist in certain parts of Scotland and we are continuing to tackle this.

"More than 400 students now receive a dental undergraduate bursary scheme of 4000 per year in return for commitment to work in NHS dentistry in Scotland."

Margaret Watt, chairwoman of the Scotland Patients Association, said: "I welcome the rise. Hopefully, we are going to see many more NHS dentists in the future."

Lothian residents can find their nearest NHS dentist and access urgent dental care by contacting the Lothian dental enquiry line on 0131-537 8444.

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