NHS dentist crisis sees waiting lists of up to 4,000

REPORTER'S THREE-HOUR ATTEMPT TO SIGN UP TO PRACTICE UNSUCCESSFUL

- NICOLE WOOTTON-CANE

IT'S no secret that getting a spot as an NHS patient at a dentist is something akin to gold dust these days.

Ever since I left university in the midst of the pandemic, it's a task I've been putting off.

I've relied instead on emergency dentist appointments (of which I believe I have had three) as and when I need them instead - a stressful and less-than-ideal solution.

Earlier this year, a damning report into NHS dental services by the Health and Social Care Committee called for 'urgent and fundamental reform' citing a YouGov poll showing about a quarter of the UK population are not registered with a dentist.

Greater Manchester Integrated Partnership (GMICP), who are responsible for commissioning dentistry in the area, said access to NHS dentists has been a nationwide challenge for many years' exacerbated by the pandemic.

I wanted to find out just how bad the situation is in Manchester, and was shocked by what I found.

I used the NHS website's 'Find a dentist' tool, where you enter your postcode and it spits back your 50 closest dental practices along with a box telling you whether they are accepting new NHS patients or not.