Are you trying to find an NHS dentist in North Yorkshire?
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, people frequently told us that there was simply nowhere in their area taking on new NHS patients. Following the initial lockdown restrictions, since the reopening of dental practices on 8 June, we have heard yet more stories from people who are unable to find an NHS dentist who is taking on new patients. People have also highlighted difficulties caused by information on the NHS website not being up to date and having to ring round multiple practices to be told that they are not accepting new patients or opening their waiting lists.
We are working with other local Healthwatch across Yorkshire on this issue in a bid to ensure clear, up-to-date information is offered by the NHS about the availability of dental care in local communities. We are also working to understand people’s experiences of attempting to access dental care, and the affects on their wellbeing when they are not able to do so.
COVID-19 has had a huge impact on NHS dental services, and local practices continue to make changes to how services are delivered to ensure the safety of patients and staff. Resumption of the full range of dental care is being risk-managed by individual practices and patients with the most urgent issues are being prioritised.
The current guidance is that patients accessing dental care in normal working hours should do so through a dental practice.
The advice from the NHS is as follows:
Impact on patients
- Practices are prioritising urgent dental care for those patients who require immediate attention. In addition, they are also prioritising the health and safety of both patients and staff. The nature of the treatments involved means adhering to strict infection control procedures between appointments, this reduces the number of patients that are able to be treated on a daily basis.
- The other impact is on those patients wishing to resume their routine dental check-ups and treatments. Practices have been asked to prioritise those patients in urgent or emergency dental need. Therefore, patients requiring routine dental care such as check-ups and scale and polish will inevitably experience longer waiting times.
Current advice on accessing urgent dental advice/treatment
- Anyone with an urgent dental issue should telephone their dental practice (or any NHS practice if they don’t have a regular dentist) for advice on what to do next.
- They will be triaged first over the telephone. If they need face-to-face care, they will be given an appointment and encouraged to attend as long as they do not have any COVID-19 symptoms.
- Anyone requiring treatment will be given clear instructions by the dental practice on what they need to do prior to their face-to-face appointment and once they get to the practice.
- If after telephone triage the clinician decides the issue is not deemed urgent, the patient may be given advice on how to self-manage their dental problem. They will be advised to make contact again if their situation changes.
- Patients are asked to be understanding of the current situation with regards to the prioritisation of those with urgent needs and be respectful of the clinical decision.
- The dentist is best placed to clinically assess their dental issue. If they are deemed non-urgent, we would ask that they don’t then call 111 for a second opinion leaving 111 staff free to deal with other patients with urgent health issues.
All general dental practices are expected to continue to provide remote triage to any patient, regardless of whether they are a regular patient of the practice. Following this remote triage, if the clinician believes the patient needs face-to-face treatment, they will make an appointment with them or refer them to a local Urgent Dental Care Treatment Centre. If outside of normal working hours, patients can call 111.
So if a patient does not have a regular dentist during the COVID-19 outbreak, they can still contact any local dental practice for help.
We would like to continue to hear feedback about your experiences in accessing NHS dental care in North Yorkshire, so we can ensure those responsible for commissioning and delivering services understand how things are working for members of the public. You can find out how to contact us here.
