A NEW NHS dental contract has been awarded in the town for an additional 300 NHS dental places, which will see a new practice opening in the High Street.
White Horse Dental Practice, located in the White Horse Health Centre, was recently given the news that their application to continue their NHS dental services to their patients was unsuccessful, with their contract coming to an end on Wednesday 26th June.
However, a bigger contract has been awarded to a new practice who will deliver dental services for Westbury, providing an additional 300 NHS dental spaces in the town.
Initially the news of the unsuccessful application at White Horse Dental caused concern for patients who were left in the dark about their healthcare.
One patient called NHS England following the news and was told the nearest NHS place for them and their family was in Salisbury.
They said, “I can’t take my kids or myself to the dentist – I phoned NHS England and there is only one dental practice in Wiltshire accepting NHS patients and that is in Salisbury, which is over an hour away.
“That’s a whole day off school for the kids. It’s ridiculous. The schools have been telling us that Wiltshire has the worst rate of tooth decay in the UK, so it’s a bizarre decision.
“It’s not fair on Westbury, there are more houses being built, more people moving here, but we have no services. Westbury doesn’t have a leg to stand on!”
However, White Horse News contacted NHS England who say that the new NHS contract is ‘bigger than the previous’ contract and means “an additional 300 NHS dentist places”.
A spokesperson for NHS England said, “We are pleased to announce that Dumbledore Ltd, part of the South Cliff Dental group has been awarded the contract to provide NHS dental services in Westbury. The practice based at 6 High Street Westbury BA13 6BW will be opening in June.
“As part of our commitment to improve access to NHS dental services in Wiltshire, the contract will enable approximately 300 additional patients to receive NHS dental treatment each year. Full detail on all NHS Dental Practices can be found at www.nhs.uk or by calling NHS 111.”
If you have any comments please contact the NHS England Contact Centre 0300 311 22 33.
White Horse Dental Practice said, “Patients who are currently undertaking a course of treatment with us will continue until treatment is completed. Your course of treatment will need to be completed before 26th June 2019.
“If you have an NHS appointment booked with us from 27 June 2019, this will unfortunately be cancelled. We will contact you in due course to confirm this. If you decide to remain with the practice as a private patient, your booked routine examination appointment will continue.
“We would like to thank all our NHS patients for their loyalty and support over the years. We will continue to provide private services for our loyal patients and are working on affordable and exciting dental plans for all patients. This includes the services of our dental hygienist who will continue direct access bookings.”
Further NHS dentists in the town include Delicate Dentistry, Dentalcare Limited and Haynes Road Dental. Full details can be found or to search for a local dentist by visiting the NHS Website www.nhs.uk or by calling NHS 111.
Picture: 6 High Street, the new dentist premises.
