North Devon dental provision collapses

Many patients are angry

Residents of Torrington are up in arms after NHS dental provision collapsed in the town.

Many angry patients claim they and their children have been “removed” from the NHS list and transferred to private-only provision by practice ‘mydentist’.

Liberal Democrat county councillor for Torrington Rural Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin is demanding urgent action from NHS Devon Integrated Care Board, which is responsible for commissioning local NHS dental services, after being flooded with concerns from locals.

One worried mother, Hannah Harris, said: “I have two young children who were always seen under the NHS, but now we’ve been told we have to pay privately. It’s simply unaffordable for us as a family, and I’m scared about what will happen to my children’s teeth if they can’t be seen. We feel abandoned.”

Another who responded to Cllr Cottle-Hunkin’s post on Facebook said they had not seen a dentist for three years because all their check-up appointments with mydentist had been cancelled.

“When I asked why, the excuse was they were still catching up from covid times…my appointment was rescheduled to May this year from 18 months ago and yet again they cancelled it, and they’re still using the same excuse,” said the resident.

Others on social media have highlighted the gap in NHS dentistry across North Devon. One said her husband had been on the waiting list for seven years.

“It’s ridiculous but we can’t afford private so he just doesn’t see anyone unless it’s an emergency,” they said.

Cllr Cottle-Hunkin has also written to Conservative MP for Torridge and Tavistock Geoffrey Cox over the matter.

She said in her letter to health bosses: “This situation is unacceptable. NHS dentistry is supposed to be accessible to all, yet here in Great Torrington, residents have been left high and dry. 

“I’ve been contacted by parents and pensioners alike who simply cannot afford private fees. We urgently need answers and action from NHS Devon ICB to restore NHS provision locally and to set out a clear plan for improving access across Devon.

“Oral health is a fundamental part of overall health,” Cllr Cottle-Hunkin added. “Devon residents deserve NHS dental care, not a postcode lottery. I will continue pressing for urgent improvements to protect the health and wellbeing of our communities.”

Cllr Cottle-Hunkin has asked the NHS Devon ICB to urgently confirm what immediate steps will be taken to restore NHS dental provision in Great Torrington, how children will be guaranteed access to NHS dental care locally and what wider action is being taken to tackle the county-wide dental access crisis.

A spokesperson for the Torrington mydentist practice said a clinician at the practice has made “the difficult decision to stop delivering NHS dentistry”

“We are doing everything we can to recruit a replacement,” they said.

“Patients have the option to continue seeing this clinician privately. No patient is being removed from the NHS waiting list and they will remain on the waitlist until a new NHS dentist has been recruited.”

The town’s other dental practice Torrington Dental Practice says on its website it is currently unable to accept new NHS patients and its private waiting list is temporarily closed.

It says it has have been operating at full capacity under its  NHS contract for approximately 15 years.

North Devon Liberal Democrat MP Ian Roome has made dentistry one of his campaigns since being elected last year after hearing stories of people pulling out their own teeth because they can’t get an appointment.

On Wednesday the first in-person meeting of the North Devon Dental Steering Group which he spearheaded last November was held at Petroc College in Barnstaple.

Bringing together representatives from the Integrated Care Board (ICB), NHS, local dentists, local authorities, and other key stakeholders, the group is focusing on oral health promotion and recruitment and retention of dentists.

It says it has already delivered “tangible successes” including setting up a free introduction to dentistry course at Petroc College and distributing dental packs to many of the primary schools across North Devon.

At this week’s meeting, members were joined by Sharon Egan, the government’s head of dentistry and the chair of the British Dental Association (BDA).

They discussed recruitment strategies, urgent care pathways, commissioning updates and community engagement plans. NHS commissioners also confirmed that a new orthodontic practice is set to open in Barnstaple early November.

Mr Roome said North Devon was still widely recognised as a ‘dental desert’.

“I hear every day from people unable to get an appointment, even when they’re in real pain. So we also spent a lot of time highlighting the unique challenges rural and coastal communities like ours continue to face.

“National issues like contract reform and proper funding are still not being addressed by the new Labour government. It must step up and take this crisis seriously…and I will keep pressing in parliament until they do.

“But here in North Devon, the work of the NDDSG shows what can be achieved when local partners pull together.”