Council declares dental health crisis
More than 40,000 residents of Dumfries and Galloway have lost access to dental services in the past three years
Labour and independent councillors in Dumfries and Galloway have voted to declare a dental health crisis.
A council meeting last week heard that more than 40,000 residents in the region have lost access to dental services in the past three years, reported The Herald.
At points, no dental practices in the region have been accepting new NHS patients, forcing many people — particularly those on lower incomes — to travel long distances or seek costly private care.
Councillor Linda Dorward, of the Labour Group, said: “We’ve got 66 percent of people registered in Dumfries and Galloway with an NHS dentist and 95 percent in the whole of Scotland.
“This demonstrates a systemic failure in the NHS dental model and the financial instability of existing NHS dental contracts.
“This has created a two-tier system where those who can afford private treatment because you can access that across Dumfries and Galloway receive timely care, while those who cannot are left waiting often for years for NHS registration to open across the whole of Dumfries and Galloway.
“This results in worsening oral health, increased emergency interventions and in some cases people resorting to unsafe DIY dental procedures. This situation widens rather than closes the region’s health inequalities gap.”
The council is seeking a report from Dumfries and Galloway Integrated Joint Board on measures being taken to tackle the dental crisis and will write to Angela Constance, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, calling for Scottish Government intervention.