Dentists in Brighton and Hove are no longer taking on new NHS patients, according to a Brighton councillor.
The claim followed concerns raised by a watchdog last year that NHS patients were being told that they could book treatment if they went private.
At a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting on Wednesday (26 January) councillors asked for a full report looking into “access to dental services”.
Labour councillor Amanda Grimshaw raised the issue with the council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee after she was unable to find a single practice taking on NHS patients.
Councillor Grimshaw represents Moulsecoomb and Bevendean where, she said, a new dental surgery was not taking NHS patients.
Previously, the council’s Health and Wellbeing Board was told that the new dental surgery would address the shortfall.
Councillor Grimshaw said that she called the Sussex Dental Health Line to be told that no practices locally were taking NHS patients – and she had heard the same from other people.
She asked how many people had been removed from dentists’ lists for non-attendance during the coronavirus pandemic.
And she asked: “How many dentists currently have spaces for new registrations in the Brighton area as I have found none available and waiting lists are closed?”
Labour councillor Clare Moonan, who chairs the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, read out an answer on behalf of NHS dental commissioners.
It said: “Patients no longer register with NHS dentists like they do with GPs, though many dental practices do hold lists of patients that they consider are associated with their practice.
“Because these lists are not held by the NHS and only by the practices themselves, it is unfortunately not possible to say how many patients have been removed from dentists’ lists at any time.
“Patients wishing to find a new dentist should contact the Sussex Dental Helpline on 0300 123 1663 or visit https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist.”
Healthwatch Brighton and Hove has previously highlighted the problems patients have had trying to see a dentist during the pandemic.
Councillor Moonan said: “I know Healthwatch has concerns about dentistry – and it is an issue that comes up frequently.
“I’m calling for a full report at the April meeting (of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee) to look more closely into access to dental services throughout the city.”
Councillors were previously given a briefing by a senior NHS manager, Mark Ridgeway, who commissions dental services in the south east.
He said that at the height of the pandemic, capacity was reduced at dental surgeries to leave time between patients, putting pressure on the amount of time allocated to NHS patients.
The aims included minimising the number of people in waiting rooms, reducing the level of aerosols in the air generated by procedures and allowing staff to change their PPE (personal protective equipment).
At the town hall meeting, committee member Frances McCabe, 75, who chairs Healthwatch Brighton and Hove, was thanked for her contribution as she announced her retirement.
She will continue as a member of the council of governors for University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, and six other hospitals.
Healthwatch Brighton and Hove is looking to recruit a new chair. For more details, email chair@healthwatchbrightonandhove.co.uk.
It is a mystery that dentistry is not a central part of the NHS. This would help to prevent the onset of other diseases via the gums, such as dementia and strokes.