The NHS has been accused of letting down patients in pain by shutting London’s last community-based A&E-style service for people needing emergency dental treatment.
NHS England’s closure of the “urgent dental service” in Kentish Town will leave the capital’s 8.7 million residents with only two busy hospitals to go to with teeth problems. Dentists have warned that it will force more patients to seek help at overcrowded GP surgeries and A&E units. The disappearance is the latest loss of walk-in services across England for people with emergencies such as a broken tooth or abscess.
NHS England said the service would shut on 31 March, even though 5,451 people used it last year and patients come from all over London to get treatment. People should in future call the NHS111 helpline or seek an appointment with their regular dentist, they said.
“Access to emergency dental care is increasingly a postcode lottery. Inadequate provision is simply piling more pressure on GPs and A&Es that are not equipped to provide dental treatment”, said Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen of the British Dental Association.
“It’s absurd that NHS111 operators are asking patients to do ring-rounds [of dental surgeries looking for a free slot at short notice],” he said.
The association is urging the NHS to tackle the growing shortage of emergency dental services by arranging for high-street dentists to always have a certain number of emergency appointments available.
“It is irresponsible to shut a fantastic service that provides emergency dental care to patients without providing an alternative. Where do they think these patients are going to go?” said Dr Francesca Silman, a doctor whose practice is near the closing walk-in centre. “It is not acceptable to leave people in pain and in need of treatment, and this will only worsen the pressures already on GPs and A&E who can offer very little help to those that attend.”
Andrew Dismore, a Labour member of the London Assembly, has voiced concern about the service going, NHS England’s lack of public consultation, and the fact that it has been taken “against the wishes” of Whittington Health, the NHS trust that staffs it.
The dental association recently estimated that 135,000 dental patients a year end up attending A&E because they cannot easily gain access to care for a sudden problem. A further 600,000 seek treatment from a GP, adding to the pressure on family doctor services, it believes.
From April, Londoners needing urgent dental care will have only two options: specialist clinics at King’s College Hospital and Guy’s Hospital, both in south London, though the Guy’s service limits treatment to 55 patients a day and those needing care must be there as early as 7.30am to secure an appointment. The Royal London Hospital in east London recently shut its clinic.
An NHS England spokeswoman said: “We recently reviewed the service and found that there is sufficient capacity for patients who need urgent dental care at existing dental practices and so the closure of the service would not negatively impact patients in the area.
“There are more than 1,250 high-street dentists across London where patients can access dental care when they need it. Londoners in need of urgent dental care should call NHS111, who can then signpost them to the most appropriate service for their treatment.”
Fury as last London community dental clinic shuts
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