For Tracey Britland and her two young children, accessing dental care has become quite a journey. Despite living in Epping for two years, they still have to drive an almost eight hour round trip to Cheshire and back everytime they have a dentist appointment.
When she moved her family from Cheshire to Epping, Tracey discovered a disheartening reality: she was unable to register for NHS dental care in her new community. Despite numerous local dental practices, many within walking distance, Tracey claims none were accepting NHS patients, leaving her and her children, aged four and nine, without options close to home.
Tracey said: “I’ve called up all the dentist practices multiple times and I always get the same answer: ‘we are not taking NHS patients and there’s no waiting list.’ They proceed to tell me their private fees, but I cannot afford them as a single mum with two young kids.”
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She added: “The cost for a family of three to join privately is between £50 and £70 a month, every single month!”
Every six months, Tracey and her children embark on the lengthy journey to Cheshire, spending around £100 on fuel each trip. These dental visits have to be scheduled during school holidays and often need overnight stays.
She said: “Of course we would like to use our holidays for family fun, not for a mere 10-minute dental appointment. This is really frustrating because my children should receive free dental services, yet, we’re forced to travel extensively for basic care.”
Tracey added: “The alternative is to not go and just wait until we need emergency treatment and pay for private fees, but I strongly feel that my young kids deserve the right to go to an NHS dentist. That’s what we pay our taxes for.”
Despite their love for Epping, not being able to access NHS dental care locally poses a significant challenge for Tracey and her family. She feels the dentist situation is hopeless as she claims she cannot even secure a spot on a waiting list.
Tracey says she is also concerned about holding onto a spot in Cheshire while awaiting a solution in Epping, but it was her former dentist who advised her to remain with their practice, cautioning that finding an NHS dentist elsewhere would be challenging. She added: “It’s a systemic issue; not just here, but across the country. There has to be a better solution, perhaps through a swap system.”
A spokesperson for the NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB), said: “Since taking on the commissioning of dental services we are keen to ensure our population has access to the health and care services they need in a timely manner. Dental practices are responsible for ensuring they are delivering care in accordance with the contracted level of activity. This sometimes means they are unable to take on new patients.”
“We would encourage patients to contact dental practices where they live but also in neighbouring towns (such as Harlow, Loughton, Waltham Abbey) directly, as their capacity to take on new patients can change quickly. The ICB is currently looking at ways to increase access to NHS dentists across Hertfordshire and west Essex and will continue to work with dental practices to ensure they are fully maximising the opportunities to deliver their services to as many patients as possible.”
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