Bupa dentist set to close in Bridlington
It's due to recruitment issues
We have been hearing how yet another dental practice in Bridlington is set to close at the end of this month.
Bupa says it has not been able to recruit permanent NHS dentists to the practice for over two years.
It means patients may have to go private when they cannot afford it because of the cost of living crisis or they will travel far just to get their teeth checked.
Claire Pearson, Regional Operations Director at Bupa Dental Care, said “We’ve been working closely with NHS England for over two years to find dentists for our Bridlington practice.
Despite our best efforts, the critical national shortage of NHS dentists means we’ve been unable to recruit permanent dentists to this practice.
"This means we’re not able to offer patients the level of service they need and after careful consideration, we’ve made the very difficult decision to close the practice.
"Any outstanding treatment will be completed before 1st December 2022, and those who need emergency care can contact the practice up until the closing date.
"After this date, patients can search for another practice on the NHS website. If they have an urgent dental problem after 30th November 2022, they’ll need to call the NHS Dental Helpline on 111. They’re open 24 hours a day every day, and they’ll be able to help."
"It's wrong that the people of Bridlington have to suffer."
Mike Heslop-Mullens, Councillor for Bridlington North, said: "I'm absolutely disgusted. People didn't know until they got a letter to their house. When you've got let's say a family of four or five who are registered there then they're stuck. As there are very few dentists around, I think it was a very bad move and it didn't show respect for people in Bridlington.
"Bridlington's health services aren't the best at the moment. There are very few dentists in the town and trying to find one in a close area is difficult. We're a population of 40,000 people and for the NHS to say 'we can't find a dentist for you' is ridiculous.
"It may well be that the contract being offered to dentists is such that moving to a place like Bridlington doesn't make it viable. It's something that the NHS has to sort out but it's wrong that the people of Bridlington have to suffer. We have children here with braces that can't find anyone to remove them. It's just disgusting.
"Effectively what they've done is just drop them like stones rather than provide temporary dentistry. If the NHS hasn't been able to recruit them then we need reasons why they're not recruiting them in the Bridlington area. I know all our health services are suffering and a lot of dentists have left to go private.
"They remaining dental surgeries can't serve adequately a popular of 40,000 so you then have to move out to areas like Filey and Driffield which also have problems. If we go to those two places, you're talking about a 26-mile round trip and if you have to go further than that then you're talking about around a 40 mile round trip.
"People may decide, especially during the cost of living crisis, they're not going to go to a private because they're looking at the cash they've got and trying to work out how best to use it for the family. This will only lead to more problems with gums, teeth etc. People will be worse than they were which puts other pressures on the NHS."