NHS Dentists in Hereford?

[megilleland]

I have to get a new NHS dentist in Hereford as mine in Leominster is retiring. I am caring full time and travelling to Leominster without someone sitting with my partner, makes it nigh impossible. From my searches it appears that no dentist in Hereford is taking NHS. As a last resort I will be willing to pay if there is no alternative. The Conservatives said they would destroy the NHS through Creative Chaos. They appear to be achieving this very well and are now applying their skills to our hospitals. Unless you pay you won't get treatment,

[twowheelsgood]

Out of interest, I had a look around - you are right, I think that branch of the NHS is fast disappearing. Kyrle St Dental Practice offered something called 'NHS Dental Prototypes – Dental Contract Reform England' - although it sits under a NHS banner it is, it seems, paid for treatment.

"The practice is taking part in the NHS Dental Prototype Scheme, this is being implemented by the NHS and the Department of Health to look at new ways of providing the care you need to improve your oral health." I think the ways of providing care are well established - it’s the charging for something which I've paid into all my life - via tax and NI - and then being asked to pay again that's new.

[megilleland]

Have rung all the practices below and none are taking NHS patients. In some cases September was the earliest on a waiting list. Some state:
NOT accepting children (up to the age of 18)
NOT accepting adults (18 and over)
NOT accepting adults entitled to free dental care

So generally not accepting those that cannot pay privately.

Dental Access Centre
Asda Site, Belmont Road, Hereford, HR2 7JE
01432 382180

Bupa Dental Care, Hereford
Pool Farm, Belmont, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR2 7JZ
01432 279066

St Owen Dental Studio
Ground Floor, Broadway House, Aubrey Street, Hereford, Herefordshire HR4 0BU
01432 272084

Evans, Morton & Evans (Orthodontics) - Braces only
34 Castle Street, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR1 2NW
01432 273393

mydentist, St Owen Street, Hereford
4 St. Owen Street, Hereford, Herefordshire HR1 2PH
01432 356 891

Collins House Dental Surgery
19 St. Owen Street, Hereford, Herefordshire HR1 2JB
01432 357 717

mydentist, Commercial Street, Hereford
8 Commercial Street, Hereford, Herefordshire HR1 2DB
01432359126

The Willows
Willows Dentistry, 15a Commercial Street, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR1 2DE
01432 274749

Brighton Villa Dental Surgery
7 Wyecliffe Terrace, Bath Street, Herefordshire, Herefordshire, HR1 2HG
01432 272925

Kyrle Street Dental Practice
18 Kyrle Street, Hereford, Herefordshire, Herefordshire, HR1 2ES
01432 273037

 

[megilleland]

Here is a comment from The Slog a few days ago:

Let me educate you all about dentistry. All dentists are independent self employed people. Some agree to take an NHS contract. This gives a certain amount per year for an unspecified amount of work. Thus ,in short ,they are juggling the amount of work to fit the amount paid . From this amount all costs are borne by the dentist -staff payments ,mortgage, materials, everything . Privately on the other hand they can charge what they like for the individual procedures it doesn’t take the brain of Britain to work out that this is not only more financially rewarding ,though greater risk ,than working on the NHS . Hence why you are always offered a private alternative by an NHS dentist (or nearly always). So comments like dentists should be forced to do NHS work is like saying you must work for less as a self employed person. How many of you would do this? Equally as none of you have a clue on running costs you are in no position to judge what is expensive. Such a judgement can only be made when you are in full possession of facts. I worked until 2006 non the NHS when the current ludicrous system was invented. It was done by govt to fix their costs, that is the only reason. Obviously it is not good for patients but they are only interested in price-at least the NHS moaners . So there you have it. i retired 4 years ago and wouldn’t touch the job i loved with a barge pole now. It is truly screwed

My reply:

I don't think anyone is an NHS moaner. Us older folk need to budget on our pensions. Gone are the days when I could afford to spend £3,000 on an implant. I note that your Association were calling for an uplift in pay of at least 5% for 2020/21. Did the care workers and nurses get similar treatment I don't think so.

NHS dentists and doctors across the UK will receive a 2.8 per cent pay rise, backdated to April, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed.

The Government has accepted in full the pay recommendations in the latest Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) report, which considers a range of evidence from the NHS and trade unions.

This pay award is worth, in basic pay, between £2,200 and £3,000 for consultants, between £1,100 and £2,100 for Specialty Doctors, and between £1,500 and £2,600 for Associate Specialists.

Obviously market forces prevail. Make hay while the sun shines.
 

[megilleland]

The Guardian 25th January 2022

England plans dental ‘treatment blitz’ to tackle appointments backlog

New £50m funding pot allocated to help provide 350,000 extra slots – including weekends and evenings – in February and March

More than 350,000 extra dental appointments are to be made available in February and March, NHS England said, with a new £50m funding pot aimed at fuelling a dentistry “treatment blitz”.

However, senior dentistry sources said the cash was a “drop in the ocean”, with tens of millions of NHS appointments cancelled as a result of Covid-19 and the resulting backlog set to take years to clear.

Some also expressed doubts about whether there would be enough staff to offer the additional appointments, since hundreds of dentists have quit the profession in the last year amid warnings that NHS dentistry is increasingly “hanging by a thread”.

Millions of patients have struggled to access dental care since 2019. Some have spent weeks or months in pain as a result, and others believed they had no option but to conduct “DIY dentistry” while waiting for treatment, or felt coerced into “going private”.

Under the new plans to tackle the backlog, NHS England said dentists involved in the scheme would “be paid more than a third on top of their normal sessional fee” for delivering care outside their core hours.

Dentists said this could involve providing appointments as late as 10pm on weeknights, and slots being offered on Saturdays and Sundays, with children and people with learning disabilities, autism or severe mental health problems being prioritised.

The chief dental officer for England, Sara Hurley, said: “Dental services are a vital part of the NHS, providing oral healthcare to all age groups, and that’s why we have taken this unprecedented action to boost NHS dental services.

“The NHS is now getting key services like dentistry back to pre-pandemic levels – injecting an extra £50m into routine services will help provide checkups and treatment for hundreds and thousands of people.”

The minister for primary care, Maria Caulfield, said the new funding would “urgently give more people access to vital dental care when they need it”.

However, Shawn Charlwood, chair of the British Dental Association’s general dental practice committee, said the extra cash “must be just the start if we are to rebuild a service millions depend on”.

He added: “After a decade of cuts, a cash-starved service risks being offered money that can’t be spent. Hard-pressed practices are working against the clock and many will struggle to find capacity ahead of April for this investment to make a difference.”

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Interesting to see how this affects Herefordshire.