Police forced to intervene and send people home as hundreds queue for appointments at new practice in St Pauls, Bristol

flappergirl

I live in Bristol and, to the best of my knowledge, there isn't one single NHS dentist taking on new patients. It's been like that for about 2 years and prior to that it was a struggle.

We're a big city. People were being directed to the dental hospital in the city centre where dental students traditionally treat the homeless.

The one Urmstongran mentions is in St Paul's. (Bristol for non-locals 🙂)
It was on the local news (perhaps national news as well?)

The same NHS dentists are using the same facilities here to carry out private treatment. I'm not sure how it works.

Walea
Wales

varian

It is an utter disgrace that the government cannot fund NHS dentistry prpoerly to ensure that everyone, everywhere in the UK has access to an NHS dentist.

What is worse is that children here are unable to get appointments with NHS dentists!

I thought at one time even private dentists had to take children as patients free of charge but no longer. Not in Walea, anyway.

Yes, I saw that on the local news, Urmstongran! It's shocking.

DGC needed a tooth out under general anaesthetic and had to go on a 140 mile round trip to have it done privately.

A few months ago, Rishi came out and said that the Government were going to make it that when a dentist, who are all trained using NHS funding, qualified, they would have to work as an NHS dentist for 5 years before going into private practice. That all makes perfect sense to me so why has it all gone quiet on that front? All words and no action, this Government.

I have just seen this discussed on TV, the last dental practice in this area closed 7 months ago, by the look of the buildings it appears to be in a run down part of Bristol.

Whether the NHS dentist shortage is due to Brexit or not the responsibility to provide an adequate service throughout the UK rests with the Tory government (the SNP in Scotland) and they have failed miserably.

BlueBelle

Oh please stop Umstrongran that’s totally unnecessary a lot of it is down to people voting for Bexit a lot of our dentists were European

I dont think it is unneccesary if what Umstrongran is saying is true.

Visgir1

My dentist and many others in my area all went private well over 20 years ago.
My dentist however saw all under 18's on the NHS still.

Same here... I had to leave a very good dentist and practice because I couldn't afford the private dental charges when he changed from not treating NHS patients.

I was lucky that I found another NHS dentist.

However I would love to change NHS doctors because the one I've been with for 30 years which was always great, the best in town, now has gone the same way as many others and now we have very poor service..., but no other doctor surgeries in our town are taking on new Patients, if we're already registered with a doctor in our local area, and we're told we can't register with a practice in nearby towns either .

Oh please stop Umstrongran that’s totally unnecessary a lot of it is down to people voting for Bexit a lot of our dentists were European

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My dentist and many others in my area all went private well over 20 years ago.
My dentist however saw all under 18's on the NHS still.

A dreadful position for people to be in, how has it come to this ? Things seem to be heading the same way in rural France too, shortage of Drs and dentists.

it is absolutely disgusting, we all paid in & expect to get NHS treatment and running down the NHS was not in this gov'ts manifesto, I feel cheated and hope they get what they deserve at the next election

I live in Bristol and, to the best of my knowledge, there isn't one single NHS dentist taking on new patients. It's been like that for about 2 years and prior to that it was a struggle.

We're a big city. People were being directed to the dental hospital in the city centre where dental students traditionally treat the homeless.

Hundreds of patients flocked to a new dental practice in Bristol on Monday morning in the hope of securing an NHS appointment.
Police were forced to intervene and send people home in the early afternoon because the surgery was unable to meet the demand...........people are desperate to sign up with an NHS dentist as soon as one comes to the area..... happened where I live. .....

I’m lucky enough to have an NHS dentist, but she only works three days a week, with a long weekend from Friday to Monday.

Good God, it's so awful that people have become so so desperate - having lost nearly every tooth in my head due to an auto-immune disease I've had my fair share of toothache and it's debilitating ...

Yes I m having to go to see a private dentist as mine has left the practice and I need treatment it will dig into my meagre savings and doesn’t seem fair There are literally no NHS taking on in my area the one I was seeing had 15,000 patients

It is an utter disgrace that the government cannot fund NHS dentistry prpoerly to ensure that everyone, everywhere in the UK has access to an NHS dentist.

Apologies. Yes, a new NHS dental practice.

People are desperate for a dentist so I am not suprised, as Urm said 'What a mess'.

NHS dentist.

Is this doctor/ dentist ? No information given