A man from Cornwall reportedly drove for more than 10 hours for an NHS dental appointment in Scotland after searching nearby for years.
According to news reports, taxi driver Mark Formosa was unable to find an appointment anywhere near his home in Newquay, Cornwall.
He said he cannot get an NHS dental appointment ‘for love or money’ in Cornwall – but found access in Glasgow far easier. Mark added that he has not been able to see a dentist for more than 10 years.
He has now completed the 1,000-mile round trip to attend an appointment at on the outskirts of Glasgow. He also stayed overnight to ensure he could attend the appointment in the morning.
The appointment was a routine check-up – but Mark said he would be returning for any follow-up care.
DIY dentistry bringing ‘anxiety and shame’
This comes as a woman from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, said her lack of access to dental care had forced her to pull out 13 of her own teeth. Danielle Watts said she suffered with dental pain for three years after the only NHS dentist in her area closed down.
According to ITV, she got to the point where she was removing her own teeth as ‘nothing was holding them in anymore’.
Danielle described the ‘terrible’ pain of trying to eat with dental infections. She also discussed the mental toll of her poor dental state, saying it brought ‘anxiety and shame’ when people incorrectly assumed it was the result of drug addiction.
‘NHS dentistry is on its deathbed’
Last week, campaign group Toothless in England called for the government to do more to combat the crisis in access to NHS dentistry.
Care minister Stephen Kinnock cancelled a meeting with the campaign group at the last minute. Mark Jones said: ‘We are bitterly disappointed the minister cancelled late yesterday evening but we are not going anywhere and we will carry on.’
Speaking before the cancellation, he had said: ‘The minister must understand that contract reform is not the be-all and end-all. Rural and coastal regions, such as Suffolk, are unlikely to see the return of NHS dental practices to local high streets, so it is critical to ensure patients and their families have access to these services through the provision of mobile dental clinics, similar to those providing libraries, banking, and breast cancer screening.’
A spokesperson for Stephen Kinnock said he is keen to commit to a new date.
They also said the government was ‘taking action to fix the NHS dentistry crisis’. They added: ‘We’ve recently announced 700,000 urgent dentistry appointments, including 69,000 in the east of England.’
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