12,000 extra appointments ordered for Lincolnshire’s ‘dental desert’
Lincolnshire NHS dentists have been told to make 12,000 extra emergency appointments available to combat the county’s reputation as a dental desert.
The government says that access to NHS dentistry is becoming a “lottery”, and it has told Lincolnshire’s healthcare providers to arrange 12,000 extra appointments.
Places with the worst scarcity and highest level of unmet needs, like Lincolnshire, are getting the highest priority.
A health committee at Lincolnshire County Council last week heard the challenges people faced in getting an appointment.
Coun Tom Smith (Con) said: “My mother has not been able to see a dentist for so long because she hasn’t been able to afford it.
“She now sadly has an issue that is beyond repair.
“In the fifth richest country in the world, that’s not on. It could lead to quite a serious operation.”
A report from the meeting shows that Lincoln, Boston and the East Coast have the lowest levels of access to an NHS dentist.
Jason Wong, Chief Dental Officer for England, said: “Dentists are working hard to help as many patients as possible but too many people experience difficulties in accessing NHS dental services.
“It is vital that we do more to improve access – we are working with local systems to prioritise this, which includes providing 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments to help make it quicker and easier for those most in need to be seen and treated on the NHS and we are incentivising dentists to work in underserved areas so that all areas of the country can receive the care they need.”