FIVE thousand new NHS dental places will be made available in Westbury over the coming year.
The first phase of the £3.2 million project will see places offered to 500 new patients who must be residents in the BA13 postcode area. The service will be based in Westbury Hospital and provided by Westbury Dental Practice.
Mayor of Westbury cllr Sue Ezra said, “It’s really good news. We need some NHS dentists in Westbury as we are short of places for people at the moment.”
League of Friends chair Jenny Clements said, “I’m, so excited I can hardly contain myself! Something is coming to Westbury for once, instead of being take away. It’s fantastic news.”
Jenny said that she knew of Westbury residents who currently travel as far as Staverton to receive NHS treatment.
She said, “In this day and age that’s just not on, so I’m really, really delighted.”
A public open day will be held when the new practice opens on Monday 29th June, between 9.00am and 3.00pm.
After the initial intake of 500 patients, a further 2,000 places are to be made available in batches over the next 12 months.
Details of a second dental practice for Westbury, due to open during August 2009, will be issued as soon as a date has been finalised. This second practice will also be taking on approximately 2,500 new patients from the Westbury area.
Improving dentistry is one of the top priorities for Wiltshire NHS, as identified by the joint strategic needs assessment which looked at what should be the priorities for health and healthcare in the county, based on people’s needs.
Dr Julia Taylor, the practice’s dental lead said, “We are delighted to offer this new dental service to the people of Westbury, and we are encouraging anyone, particularly families with children, to come and see what we have to offer. We’ll be holding an open day on 29th June at the hospital from 9.00am – 3.00pm and everyone is welcome to come along. If you can’t come to the open day, our phone line (01373 825193) will be open from Monday 29th June.”
