Dentist experiences long queues for NHS uptake
Published: 12/07/2024
A dental surgery in Lincolnshire experienced large queues after it published on social media it was enrolling NHS patients.
Over 150 registration forms were distributed by the staff at Broadway Dental Surgery in Woodhall Spa when it opened on Wednesday morning.
Carl Tyrrell has been looking for an NHS dentist for over seven years.
He stated, “Hopefully it's great, that I can get a place finally and can get mine and my family’s teeth sorted.”
Another potential patient, Samantha, queued with her two young children. She has not been registered with a dentist for nearly a decade.
Samantha said, "I was pregnant and then covid hit and then couldn’t get the free NHS dentistry you get when you are pregnant and there’s backlog after covid and it’s been horrendous."
The surgery stated that it had patients registered from a large area, spanning from Cleethorpes to London.
Catherine Macintosh, head nurse, said they aimed to “accommodate everyone and give them the care they need."
Catherine told BBC news, "We don’t like to hear the stories of people having to do dentistry at home or people in pain.
"So, we appreciate when we do get this opportunity to have some capacity to help patients and get new NHS patients on it is going to be big uptake."
It was reported that Lincolnshire had just 38 dentists per 100,000 population, the lowest rate in the Midlands and one of the lowest in England.
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