NHS England commissions primary care services, for example GPs, dentists and opticians. Although, for GPs (primary medical services) this is devolved to most CCGs through primary care co-commissioning.
NHS England also directly commissions ‘specialised’ services (such as treatments for rare conditions and secure mental health care), military and veteran health services and health services for people in prisons (including youth offender institutions). Some public health services are also directly commissioned by NHS England.
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126 responses from the local community
Dentistry concerns in EDP
1
Submitted by Anonymous19th May 2021
I was pleased to read in today's EDP of your concern about the lack of NHS dental services in Norfolk.
I moved from Thetford to Attleborough in 2016 and foolishly informed my NHS dentist of my intended move which led him to remove me from his list.
When I moved I was pleased to see that I was only two minutes walk from an NHS dentist. However, when a checkup was due I learned that they were not taking any new NHS patients. Had I still been registered with my former practice a transfer might have been possible. I waited for some time for the situation to improve but it is now four years and that practice is still not taking on new NHS patients.
In the meantime I went to the NHS find-a-dentist near you web site, which at the time had a list of local dentists and indicated which had vacancies for new patients. I soon discovered that the information was well out of date. Most had a waiting list of at least two years, or had now closed it.
I eventually raised this with my Member of Parliament, George Freeman, who put me in touch with the local Commissioner for dental services, who suggested I go back to the website and phone each of the practices listed there. The response was still the same.
I then contacted the NHS England complaints service and spoke to someone who looked at his list of available places and recommended I contacted a practice in Kings Lynn - a round trip of 95-100 miles. When I pointed this out to him he said he didn't know the geography of this area and was unable to offer further help.
I have raised this again with my MP and await his reply.
It seems to me the problem is not, as the EDP article implies, a lack of dentists; I could get treatment from the same practices tomorrow if I were willing to pay. The problem is that the government is not funding sufficient places to meet the demand and, in my view, chooses not to do so in order to progress its policy of privatisation. It wants people to pay! I have no objection to people going privately, for whatever reason, as my wife does, but those who are entitled to NHS treatment should not be forced into that position.
Since its inception the NHS has always been intended to cover dental health in the same way as it does every other area, but the present shortage, which existed and was growing long before the pandemic is the direct result of government policies which have been supported by our local MPs.
Thank you for your concern. I am very happy for you to use my experience in any way you wish to support improvements to this woeful service. I have copied this to George Freeman.
I was a patient at a dentist in Long Stratton for 42 years. I moved to my current address in Thorpe St Andrew in 2009 and stayed at the Long Stratton dentist until Covid hit in 2019. I thought it would be a good idea to move to a more local dentist but now find it impossible to register with a local dentist.
I have been looking for an Nhs dentist since 2019, I registered with a surgery in North Walsham back in 2017 when I moved into my property. I had never been able to get an appointment with them as always received disappointment when calling. After 2 yrs of trying they advised I looked somewhere else due to a dentist leaving. So I looked elsewhere but no one was taking Nhs patients on. I then fell pregnant in 2019 and have been able to receive free treatment due to pregnancy but still no luck. I then broke a tooth during pregnancy, still no luck, not even for emergency. I continued my search with no luck. I then became pregnant again at the end of 2020 and broke another tooth, after calling 111 and receiving a reference number to call the emergency out of hours dentist, I called the number a minimum of 30 times a day, 4 days a week, to which no response! I have now not been able to see a dentist since before 2017 and am in desperate need of a few treatments on my teeth due to the damage that is caused during pregnancy. What do I do? What are my options? I can not afford private treatment, I am exempt still at the moment as I am still pregnant.
My boyfriend is trying to register with a dentist after being unable to for a couple of years now. Unfortunately we had to phone 111 last weekend due to having problems with his teeth which caused more pain than usual. I have looked on the NHS page and phoned multiple dentist practices, however no where is accepting new patients.
He really needs to be registered as he needs regular checkups and actually needs to have some work done by a dentist following on from our 111 call (111 managed to get him into an emergency dentist who advised they could just temporarily stop the problem, but work would need to be carried out by an actual dentist following that emergency appointment).
I suffer with systemic lupus and have had a lot of dental issues in the past I currently have 5 loose teeth and am in a lot of pain I have 2 partial dentures which are poorly fitted my dentist I had 2 years ago is no longer accepting NHS patients and took me off their books as I hadn't attended for nearly 2 years although this was due to being unwell with my lupus I am desperate for dental treatment as my mouth is so sore and inflamed and I am bleeding from my teeth every time I try to clean them
I am unable to register as a NHS patient at a dentist near where I live in Sheringham. I have tried Sheringham, Cromer, Fakenham, North Walsham. I am currently on maternity until October and I have a broken tooth that I think will need a filling (and a check up).
How does one find out if there are any NHS dentists still accepting new patients in/around Norwich or even Norfolk or Suffolk generally. I can find none on the NHS website, only dentists accepting private patients.
I am looking to join a dentist as an NHS patient but so far have been unable to register at any dental practice. I have contacted every dentist listed on the NHS website and have been refused access to NHS dental care from every single one of them. Following an emergency appointment at a dentist I have been informed that I need a root canal along with some other procedures. As an unemployed student I have no financial support, no job, and do not qualify for Universal Credit. I cannot afford private treatment, nor do I have any family members that can help me.