View Full Version : Caithness Dentist Crisis Deepens
Today my wife received a letter from NHS Highland saying that Neil Fearns is leaving the Bridges Dental Practice in Wick on the 10th May and they have been unable to recruit a replacement so she will no longer be registered for NHS dental services, so another one bites the dust and leaves god knows how many patients to struggle with huge private dental work costs.
It's funny, each month when i get my payslip it has a deduction called 'National Insurance', and there was me stupidly thinking that it was a contribution towards any NHS treatment that i might need.......how daft of me!
Giz
Naefearjustbeer
20-Apr-04, 06:33
I have heard he is moving to Thurso to take over the practice in Ormlie, I have also heard it will be for purely private work. I cannot back this up as it is just work gossip but it is what I have heard.
We also received the same letters yesterday, and now our kids don't have a dentist.
Don't the NHS pay these dentist's enough, or are they just selfish money grabbers raking it in by only doing treatment for people who have loads of dosh. [evil]
What next - Doctors and nurses only treating private patients with 'money'.
We all thought that our National Insurance’s and Taxes that we pay every week/month was to go towards our great National Healthcare that was one of a kind in the world.
No - Instead we will throw bombs at other countries and let the general public suffer agonising toothache.
Sorry peeps if I am talking gibberish, but I am sooo maddened by the lack of healthcare there is for our children, low income earners and not forgetting the other crisis at the moment; our expectant mothers !!!!!!!!!!!
Naefeerjustbeer is right - Neil Fearns is moving to Thurso to open a private practice. I received the standard letter yesterday but saw the hygienist at Bridges recently and she forewarned me about this. So we have the choice of staying with him and going private or hanging on and hoping someone else turns up at Wick. I suppose the only consolation with dental practices is that the whole of the UK is in the same boat - NHS dentists are a dying breed - so, unlike Maternity Services, we don't need to feel picked on.
Don't the NHS pay these dentist's enough, or are they just selfish money grabbers raking it in by only doing treatment for people who have loads of dosh. [evil]
No, the NHS dont pay these dentists enough, i was told by Neil Fearns that they get £7 per NHS consultation and that it costs somewhere near £60 per hour to keep the doors of the practice open, and with each consultaion taking around 15 mins then it's no wonder that dentists dont want to do NHS work
I was once told a few years ago that the NHS doesnt pay dentists to fill childrens teeth - only to take them out.
Seems its all upside down if you ask me
Apologies Gizmo.
I didn't mean to bad mouth dentists, as I didn't realise it was such a pittance they were paid by the NHS.
It is a Disgrace and an insult to such a professional job.
Doctors and surgeons get a nice and healthy pay packet each month and not because of the number of patients they have treated, but because of their skills in their profession; therefore dentist's should be treated the same !!!!!
now our kids don't have a dentist
Hi my kids go to pennyland school dentist, His Name is Dr Shepard and he is very good
The number is 894018
I don't have a dentist but as long as the kids can get their teeth done!!
I just suffer!
:~( :~( :~( :~( :~( :~(
I got one of those letters in the post yesterday too... so i haven't got a clue where i m going to go for a dentist, does this mean that i will have to pay myself now (used to get it payed by the NHS for mee)?? [evil]
Cheers folks, that's my rant for the day unleashed
Riff
Interesting article about it here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3502813.stm
Anonymous
22-Apr-04, 09:34
But for those unwilling to spend anything more than the bare minimum on their teeth, improvements have been promised by the government. Next year the responsibility for dental care will devolve to a local level, in theory making it easier for NHS blackspots to be targeted.
I like this bit from that article, basically saying the government is going to spend a wad of cash on a improvement that does absolutly nothing. Next year they will be able to see where the problems are!!!! What good does that do anyone? hmmm NHS blackspot? 300 people queuing round the block to get registered with a dentist? A county of people screaming about the lack of dentists? There must be something we've missed if the labour/libdem government cant see what we're saying.
The labour/libdem party should try going back through its policies and change the words "improvements have been promised by the government" to "the government has promised to open their eyes and take the cotton wool from their ears" because a problem jumping up and smacking them in the face is obviously not clear enough.
Caledonia
22-Apr-04, 09:44
This is just another legacy from the darn Tories, but the present Government could take care of this with some simple legislation.
You want to train as a dentist?
Okay, but you have to be licensed and under new legislation this means you can be asked to turn over up to 50% of your practise to NHS work where required.
Same thing with Doctors.
I heard some idiotic medical students on a TV prog saying they were planning to go to the US as soon as they qualify.
Okay, go to the US, but give us back ALL the money it took to train you and we can use it to train/recruit someone who wants to work here, and in future we just will not offer medical degrees to people who are unwilling to commit to at least ten years post qualification to the NHS.
Why is the tax payer being asked to train these people and then told they have to pay again if they need to use them?
You want to train in any field of public service you ought to be compelled to use that training for public service. End of.
I know this argument falls down when you consider skill shortage in engineering, etc. but it could be the way forward for mainly public services.
Just my opinion, of course.
;)
So you dont think that forcing people wouldnt just make them train abroad?
In the early 80's a lot of the computing work was in Germany alongside building work, and thats where people went. You also have to remember that with the human rights act etc etc etc you cant force people to do anything.
We just need to accept that the government sucks and we would be better of with chimps running the country........
Tony...
But for those unwilling to spend anything more than the bare minimum on their teeth, improvements have been promised by the government. Next year the responsibility for dental care will devolve to a local level, in theory making it easier for NHS blackspots to be targeted.
.
Never mind "unwilling" what about "unable". I know i cant afford to pay for private dental care - i go all the way to golspie to get my teeth fixed on the NHS. I couldnt afford to pay privately if i wanted to. Many people in this county earn minimum or just above minimum wages - how can they afford to fork out £200 for dental treatment - its appalling.
Hi squidge
I was just wondering if u have 2 go 2 golspie for treatment, do u get travel expenses?
I get nhs treatment but i haven't 4 a while due 2 no nhs dentist up here i just suffer now!
What if u need a few appointments in golspie where does the petrol money or bus fare come from?
but i take it its like if u have an appointment at raigmore u get travel expenses (well i'm hoping its like that)
Mr P Cannop
22-Apr-04, 13:34
try dunbar ??
Hi Paul i have heard of a few people going 2 the dunbar 4 treatment but i thought u had 2 have really bad tooth-ache 2 go there?
Maybe not i'm not sure!!
I know it is Dr Shepard that does it there, the kids dentist from pennyland school!
Mr P Cannop
22-Apr-04, 16:23
try there then ??
Linzy hi
No you have to pay your own fees - it still works out cheaper i think. When i had to go to Inverness to attend the emergency clininc there - its at Culloden By the way - I had to pay my own petrol too.
Seems like you cant win either way :eyes
Naefearjustbeer
22-Apr-04, 20:58
£10 - £15 return for a trip to golspie to pay NHS prices beats private denal prices any day. One of my work mates goes to golspie and gets NHS treatment and his work is a lot cheaper than I pay private (Golpsie is full up by the way and not accepting any more NHS by the way) and it is a hell of a lot cheaper than that £12 month scheme that is on the go at a certain thurso dentists.
Anonymous
23-Apr-04, 09:20
NHS Highland have a list of Dentists in the Highlands, in case you're looking:
http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/nhshighland/Health%20Services/Find/Dental%20List.pdf
Its a pdf file so you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Naefearjustbeer
23-Apr-04, 15:47
NHS Highland have a list of Dentists in the Highlands, in case you're looking:
http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/nhshighland/Health%20Services/Find/Dental%20List.pdf
Its a pdf file so you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
But how many of them actually accept new NHS patients? probally none. All the ones I have contacted have waiting lists to get on NHS treatment and you are not alowed to go on the waiting list if you get private work done at the surgery in the meantime.
On the subject of the dentists not being payed enough by the nhs, part of the reason Nigel Fitter gave up his practise in francis st. wick was because the nhs was slow at paying him as well as the usual loads of paperwork etc(as far as i can remember). Possibly due to abuse of the system too(if i remember correctly)
I remember a similar time in the 1960's (god I'm getting old) when we had to go to Dornoch for the nearest dentist>
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