Dental waiting list cut by 700

10:16am Monday 28th January 2008

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FOUR new NHS dental practices have opened in North Yorkshire - but nearly 2,000 people in York and Selby are still on the waiting list.

Just under 700 people in the York and Selby area were allocated an NHS dentist in the last three months, but 1,886 people are still waiting.

This is despite the opening of a new practice in Clifton Moor, York, which together with new practices in Scarborough, Harrogate and Richmond, are expected provide an extra 20,000 NHS dental places over the next three years.

Jane Marshall, North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust's director of commissioning and service development, said: "We're confident that by putting these new services in place, people who want to see an NHS dentist will be able to do so.

"Although NHS dentistry has received a fair amount of bad press recently, here in North Yorkshire people have access to very good services and the majority of people who want NHS care can get it.

"Anyone who is still in need of an NHS dentist should contact the PCT so that we can accommodate them."

Elaine Gathercole, of Welburn, near York, said she had recently been allocated an NHS dentist, 13 months after going on the waiting list.

Since December 2006, the 53-year-old has spent £225 on private dental treatment for herself and her husband, Edward.

She said: "I phoned up the new practice at the beginning of the month and they were able to get me an appointment the next day.

"I still think 13 months is far too long to wait and £225 is far too much money to spend, but I am now happy with the service I am getting.

"However, I am aware that not everybody has been allocated a dentist and I would like to see a situation where nobody is on the waiting list."

Last month, we revealed how one-in-four children in North Yorkshire had not seen an NHS dentist in the past two years and nearly half the adult population had also gone without NHS dental care in the 24 months prior to July 2007.

The PCT runs a database system for people who wish to receive NHS dental care.

People who add their names onto the list are contacted as and when NHS places become available in their area.

Registration can be done online by logging on to www.nyypct.nhs.uk, by emailing nyy-pct.dentalregistration@nhs.net, or by phoning 01904 724107.