Last NHS dentist in Duston turns private, leaving hundreds of patients without care

The last NHS dentist in Duston has sent out letters to say they are no longer accepting NHS patients, leaving hundreds of people without affordable dental care.

Duston Dental Practice (DDP), in Main Road, has informed patients that they are no longer accepting NHS patients after September 1, 2023.

In a statement on their Facebook page on June 21, DDP said: “We have recently received a number of patients arriving at our practice for pre-booked routine NHS check-up examination appointments.

“Our recent letter sent to all our patients does advise that we are no longer providing routine appointments at this time to allow us to complete our outstanding NHS treatments.

"We are still seeing patients for dental emergency care under the NHS until September 1, 2023.”

This follows after many appointments were cancelled earlier this year after the closure of DDP’s St Crispins practice. This means there will be no NHS dentists in the Duston area, leaving hundreds having to fork out for private plans or have no dental care at all.

Primary school teacher, Rachel Gompertz, is registered at DDP. She said this “extremely worrying” news came “completely out of the blue” as she says the dental practice initially told her they were just upgrading their computer systems so could not make future appointments.

Rachel said: “As a primary school teacher, I already see many children suffering with their teeth and the situation is going to get worse. When families are having to choose how to allocate their money, regular dental check-ups will probably be seen as an unaffordable expense.”

For Rachel, DDP’s private plan quoted £16.60 per adult, per month plus another £8.50 per child once they reach 12 years old. Any treatment would also need to be paid for on top. She knows her daughter will need orthodontic treatment in the near future and the cost for any preliminary work could amount to hundreds of pounds.

Rachel continued: “When you read the NHS website and it states that all children are entitled to free dental care, it makes me incredibly frustrated as it seems that being entitled and actually receiving are two completely different things.”

Councillor for Duston West and St Crispins and cabinet member for adult social care and public health, Matt Golby, believes that the problem is caused by dentist shortages, issues with NHS contracts and limited infrastructure to support the town’s growth.

Councillor Golby said: “We have got a brilliant community in Duston, a brilliant set of local shops in Duston that residents support.

“As a resident myself, I hear all the time about issues around getting doctors appointments and now this with dentists. It is really frustrating for people and something has got to be done.”

He told this newspaper that questions are being asked of the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Andrew Lewer MP is currently raising the issue about the lack of dental provision in Duston to central Government.

DDP has been contacted for comment.