Thousands of new NHS dental places are being created in Newton Abbot in Devon following the news that one of the town’s dental practices is to stop treating its adult NHS patients.
The El-Nashar practice in Courtenay Park recently contacted all its health service patients saying a 12-year contract with the NHS was ending, and that patients will have to pay for private treatment from June onwards.
Practice manager Sharon El-Nashar said the "difficult decision" had been made due to the government putting a two-year freeze on its payments for NHS work, and added that rising costs of VAT, materials and staff means the practice would have been unable to maintain its high customer and care standards.
In response, NHS Devon has revealed that around 4,500 new dental places will be created to ensure local patients in Newton Abbot continue to have access to NHS dental care .
Andrew Harris, who commissions NHS dentistry services for NHS Devon, said: "We were very disappointed that the El-Nashar dental practice had chosen to treat a large number of patients privately from June 1 as we've tried hard to make sure there is good NHS dentistry provision in the area for years."
"Many patients may have felt they had no option but to go private when they read the letter the practice sent to them but I'm pleased to say that this is not the case."
"We already have NHS dental capacity around the area, in places like Dawlish and Ashburton, and if you live on the outskirts of Newton Abbot then you may wish to be treated there."
"But we know that the vast majority of people who live in Newton Abbot want to be treated there and for this reason we are not only making up the 4,000 places lost, but we are adding about 500 new places, more than meeting the current needs of our patients in the area."
"Two new dentists will be in place in dental practices in Newton Abbot from April 1 and this will give us the capacity to ensure people are treated."
