Police called as hundreds queue at dental practice in desperate bid for NHS care

05 February 2024 , 18:24

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Hundreds of people have joined a queue outside a new dental practice in the hope of getting NHS care.

Saint Pauls Dental Practice in Bristol opened on Monday under new management and was previously known as Bupa Dental Practice. The long line along Ashley Court began forming early in the morning as locals tried to get NHS treatment. Police were even called to manage the massive crowd which has been called “absurd” by one local woman.

One patient, named Maria, said she had been queueing outside the practice since around 8.30am, after she was left unable to see another dentist when the practice closed in June.

“All of the appointments were fully booked and the waiting lists were too long,” she said. The dentist has been closed for some time,” she said. “I couldn’t get into any of the other dentists - the appointments were fully booked, the waiting lists were too long. I’m also a carer - although I’m nearly 80 - and I think it’s important to keep up with good healthcare. It’s disgusting that it was closed in the first place, I don’t know why they did it.”

Maria added that she thought it was “not acceptable” that local residents were now having to queue outside the practice. “One of my neighbours - she’s facing an operation for cancer tomorrow. She’ll be somewhere in the queue. She’s also disabled and can’t stand for very long, but she’s had no choice but to stand.”

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The previous dentist, Bupa Dental Care, closed in June last year. Maria said she didn’t think there were enough dentists for the number of people in the area. “This, really, was a godsend until it closed. I don’t know how they could have closed it down,” she said.

A shocking national survey last week revealed how one in six children now have rotting teeth. The Oral Health Survey of 53,000 school children in Year 6 reveals 16% had decayed teeth. Of those with rotting molars the survey showed they had on average two decayed teeth.

The previous dentist, Bupa Dental Care, closed in June last year (AA Scaffolding / SWNS)

The survey of 10 and 11 year olds showed almost a quarter of those living in poorer areas had rotting teeth. It comes after the Mirror launched a campaign to tackle the collapse in access to NHS dentists. Newly-released data shows four in ten children were not accessing regular NHS dental check-ups last year.

Eddie Crouch, chair of the British Dental Association, said: “For a generation, ministers have failed to grasp that decay and deprivation go hand in hand. This Government likes to talk about prevention but has offered nothing. Our youngest patients are continuing to pay the price.”

Some 125 out of 153 local authorities commissioned the survey, polling around 250 Year 6 pupils each. It revealed 3% of pupils had pain in their teeth or mouths often or very often while 2% reported to have had difficulty biting or chewing firm foods in the past three months.

The long line along Ashley Court began forming early in the morning as locals tried to get NHS treatment (SWNS)

Police were even called to manage the massive crowd which has been called “absurd” by one local woman (SWNS)

Schoolchildren living in Yorkshire and The Humber were more likely to have experienced tooth decay at 23% compared with 12% in the South West. Those in the most deprived areas of the country were more than twice as likely to have experience of tooth decay at 23% compared to 10% in the least deprived areas.

It comes after a BBC investigation found 90% of NHS dentists are not taking on new adult patients Preet Gill, Shadow Health Minister, said: “These queues lay bare the state of dentistry after 14 years of the Conservatives. 99% of dentists across the South West aren’t accepting any new adult patients.

“The consequences for patients are dire. Last year, there were more than 1,000 dental emergencies in Bristol alone. Labour will provide 700,000 urgent appointments, recruit new dentists to the areas most in need, and introduce a targeted national toothbrushing scheme to 3–5 year-olds, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status.”

But Local councillor Amirah Cole said it was “exciting” to see the dental practice reopen. “The dentist has finally opened, Bupa densit which closed over nine months ago is now opening back in the area,” she said. “The queue is very long,” Cllr Cole added, saying it was “exciting for all of us” to see the practice open once again.

Between April 1, 2022 and March 31,2023 North Bristol NHS Trust saw 235 patients enter their emergency department with dental abscesses and 55 as a result of tooth decay. University Hospitals, Bristol and Weston NHS foundation Trust saw 775 patients with dental abscesses and 290 with tooth decay in the same time period according to the official NHS statistics.