No decision on dental service at Richardson Hospital

Patients wishing to make a dental appointment at the Richardson Hospital, in Barnard Castle, are still within their rights do so despite claims the service is being withdrawn.
NHS England’s Primary care commissioning manager for North, Cumbria and the North East, Pauline Fletcher, blamed a “miscommunication” for patients being unable to make an appointment. She also stressed no decision has yet been made on the provision of the dentistry services in the community hospital.
At Durham County Council’s adults, wellbeing and health overview and scrutiny committee, Ms Fletcher said there had been a drop in demand. Patient numbers have more than halved in the last year with a drop from 128 to just 58. Of those, 35 were classed as special needs patients who will be unaffected by any changes to the dental service at the Richardson.
General patients could be asked to join another dental surgery. Ms Fletcher said: “No decisions have been made about the general dental access provision.
“Our aim is to write to those patients and make them aware of the current situation and the reducing demand.
“We are interested to hear about any problems with them accessing the general high street practices.”
County councillor Richard Bell said: “That is a reassuring response. Saying you have not made a decision sounds good but I started getting complaints back in October. The figures will be going down if when people are ringing up they can’t get an appointment. They are being told this service is being withdrawn. The demand is falling because you are telling people it is closing.”
Ms Fletcher replied: “NHS England has not authorised any communication that says that service is going to end. We would be interested to get some further information about where these messages are coming from. All I can do is apologise.”
Cllr Bell asked: “So patients are in their right to make an appointment at that service?”
Ms Fletcher replied: “Absolutely and I accept that that drop more recently may have been because of that miscommunication.”
According to NHS England, there are nine other NHS dental practices operating in the area. The closest is Castle Dental Practice, in Barnard Castle, which is recruiting new NHS patients. Burgess and Hyder Group, in Stanhope, 14.2 miles away, has also been suggested as an alternative.
Cllr Bell said: “What is the capacity at Castle Dental Practice to absorb new patients and what do you mean by patients with special needs? Also, it is not just about getting to the dental practices, can you actually get inside? Castle Dental Practice lies at the top of a flight of stone steps.”
Ms Fletcher confirmed that all of the suggested practices are accessible. Castle Dental Practice has wheelchair access to the rear.
Talks are continuing between NHS England and County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust about the service’s future.