'Huge regional variations' in NHS dental care
Just 13 per cent of dentists in the north-west are taking new NHS patients
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Monday, 26, Mar 2007 10:45
The availability of National Health Service (NHS) dentists varies significantly between different parts of the country, research has suggested.
An investigation by the consumer watchdog Which? found that in the north-west of England just 13 per cent of dentists were taking new NHS patients.
The prospect of finding a dentist on the NHS was only slightly better in Yorkshire and Humberside where 15 per cent of practices were accepting new patients.
This compares to the West Midlands and London, where 63 per cent and 59 per cent of practices said they were taking on new NHS patients.
Which? blames the government's policy of allocating funding to primary care trusts (PCTs) based on previous levels of NHS care in their area.
Frances Blunden, the consumer group's health campaigner, said the Department of Health was perpetuating "the stark inequalities in access" across NHS dental care.
"Where needs are not currently being met by the NHS, people are either putting off having treatment or are being forced to go private," she added.
"If the government is serious about creating a patient-centred approach to NHS dentistry, then PCT allocations must be related to local needs."
Government figures published today showed that 51.5 per cent of adults and 70.5 per cent of children had seen a dentist in the last 24 months.
The health service's Information Centre (IC) also revealed that at the end of last year, there was one NHS dentist in England for every 2,414 people.