How patient feedback made finding an NHS dentist simpler
People often ask us, 'How do I find an NHS dentist near me?'. Using the NHS Find a Dentist tool is one way, but it only works if dentists keep their records current.
In Derbyshire, local Healthwatch has used your feedback to address this issue and the other barriers stopping people from accessing NHS dental care.
What issues did local people report?
Since 2021, local residents have consistently told Healthwatch Derbyshire about their difficulty finding NHS dentists, the challenges in accessing them, and the high costs associated with dental services.
Some people have gone to great lengths, contacting up to thirty dental practices or resorting to DIY dentistry because of the pain they are in.
Healthwatch Derbyshire also found that dental decay remains high among local children.
A growing problem
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a backlog of patients needing treatment, a shortage of trained staff, and a shift towards private treatments. This, in turn, has created obstacles for those seeking NHS dental care.
In Derbyshire, 82% of the feedback Healthwatch received highlighted how hard it is to find an NHS dentist. There was also a 50% increase in calls asking for help finding an NHS dentist every three months.
What did they do?
Healthwatch Derbyshire wanted to make it easier for people in Derbyshire to find an NHS dentist.
Local people can use the NHS Find a Dentist website, but Healthwatch Derbyshire found that the information provided by many dental practices needed to be updated.
When they found out-of-date information, our volunteers contacted the dental practices. They explained the importance of having up-to-date information on the website and made them aware of the contractual requirements that practices have to share the number of available NHS spaces.
The volunteers then regularly checked the NHS Find a Dentist website to see if required updates had been made and which practices were accepting adults or children as NHS patients.
What was the outcome?
Derbyshire is now the best county in the country for updated NHS Find a Dentist profiles, with 89% of dental practices regularly updating their NHS patient spaces.
Their continued work on access to dental care has led to greater local and national awareness of the issue.
Local politicians called for improvements after learning about the public's problems. The Health and Social Care select committee also used evidence supplied by Healthwatch across England to recommend steps to end the "crisis of access."
This work culminated in a new government plan to improve people's access to and affordability of NHS dental care.
Healthwatch Derbyshire continues to work with the local NHS to implement solutions that will improve access to appointments and increase awareness of good oral health.
