Dental access surveys give a confused message
- Details
- Published: Monday, 25 January 2016 07:55
- Written by News Editor
- Hits: 2503
A ‘Your Dentist, Your Say’ report has been published by Healthwatch Lancashire, which says only 63% of people are ‘registered’ with NHS dentist. In Cornwall patients are complaining that there are year-long waiting lists. NHS England continues to claim that nationwide 93% of people were able to get a dental appointment.
The Healthwatch Lancashire report shows that across Lancashire 63% of people said that they are registered with a NHS dentist, 19% said that they are registered with a private dentist whilst 18% of people said that they were not registered with a dentist. The findings come from a research study, which was developed by a group of NHS dentists, was of more than 1,000 residents of Lancashire to identify issues relating to access to NHS dental services.
Lancaster and Blackpool received the lowest percentage of people being registered with a NHS or private dental practice with one in four people not being registered. NHS England have provided a response to the findings which is included in the report which show that although many people are happy with receiving private dental care there are those who would like NHS dental treatment but have been unsuccessful in accessing services.
The national figures from NHS England come from the GP Patient Surveys of 1.3 million adults. These showed that three fifths (60%) tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years. Of this group 93% were successful in getting an appointment, a success rate of 95% when excluding the ‘can’t remember’ category.of respondents and 85% rated their NHS dental experience as positive.
In Cornwall seven and a half thousand are reported to be on the waiting list. One of the worst areas is Penzance, where locals face waiting up to a year. However local health managers say they are improving things and nearly six in ten people in Cornwall now have access. They think the rise is partly down to a new helpline, which allocates people to practices. They also pointed out that at 58%, access to NHS dentistry is still higher than the South of England average.
You need to be logged in to leave comments.
Report