“The NHS let me down too many times, I went private for my dentists and never looked back. if you can afford it, then it is so much better”
NHS find a dentist website 'work of fiction'
Dentists say the NHS website showing whether practices are taking on new NHS patients is a "work of fiction".
Of 34 north-east of England practices on the website said to be "accepting new NHS patients when availability allows", only three actually had space in their books.
The British Dental Association (BDA) said adding "when availability allows" was an attempt to conceal the scale of the problem and had confused patients.
NHS England (NHSE) did not explain why the wording was changed or why so few dentists actually had availability, but said it provided practices with tools and support to routinely update whether they were accepting new patients.
BDA chair Eddie Crouch said: "The data on [the website] is a work of fiction.
"The last government dropped straightforward yes/no questions on whether practices can take new patients, to try and cover the scale of the access crisis.
"A new government won't fix this just by playing around with words on a website."
“Annoyed that the only solutions this government seems to be able to come up with are the ones that cost the least money, such as changing the wording on a website.”
“So the NHS site basically lies to people? No wonder I can‘t find an NHS dentist Absolute disgrace.”
“Typical labour. Dressing up problems rather than trying to solve them.”
“The wording change feels sneaky. Patients deserve clear info, not vague phrases that hide the truth. Why can’t they just say yes or no? I feel like this is just another disappointment from the NHS and I’ve lost count”
“This is a trust issue. If the NHS can’t provide accurate data, how can patients plan their care? A simple yes/no system would at least be honest, even if the answer is mostly no.”
New Piece
Earlier this month, the BBC contacted the 34 dentists in the North East said to be accepting new patients.
Only three actually were, all of which were in Newcastle.
None of the 24 dentists in the Northumberland, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Durham or Stockton areas were taking on new patients.
One said it had a waiting list of four years.
There were no dentists accepting new adult NHS patients in the Darlington and Middlesbrough areas.
Trade body Association of Dental Groups (ADG), which represents both NHS and private dental services, said there were not enough NHS dentists around to "meet demands".
Executive chair Neil Carmichael said he was not surprised that patients trying to access an NHS dentist by contacting a practice were being met with a "sorry, no availability message".
"NHSE may be either slow or reluctant to update their website with these depressing facts, and it is our ADG members who own the dental practices that are having to deliver the bad news to patients," he said.
Source: BBC News
Pause to think how you feel about it
Answered!
How do you feel about this?
Tap the button and then shake your phone for 10 seconds to show how you feel
SHAKE!
Tap in this space for 10 seconds to show how you feel:
TAP!
DONE!
Recording Length: 1 seconds
Tap Record and talk for up to 60 seconds on how you feel about this
0/60 Seconds
Go Home