Open wide: Workington dentist has places for 10,000
Last updated at 11:39, Friday, 31 July 2009
A MAJOR step was taken yesterday to ease dental waiting lists in west Cumbria.
The opening of a new surgery by Oasis Dental Care Ltd in Campbell-Savours Way, Workington will provide care for around 10,000 patients.
The opening of the Workington practice is part of a £1.75m scheme with surgeries in Whitehaven, Egremont and Maryport providing another 20,000 places between them
The first of the patients who have been allocated to the Workington surgery will be seen this week and the doors were open to the public from 2pm yesterday.
Already the appointment book is full for weeks.
The Workington practice is one of the largest the company has opened in Cumbria.
Philip Allison, area manager for Oasis Dental Care in Cumbria, said: “We will contact patients in stages but everybody will get a place. Who gets seen first will depend on how long they have been on the waiting list.
“The appointment books are full for the first few weeks and it will continue to be busy as more patients register with the practice.
“We have worked hard to open sooner because we recognise that there is a real need for dentists in the area.”
The staff are lead dentist Adrian Miron, lead nurse Janet Harker, lead receptionist Julia Barron, dentists Susana de Santiago Regidor and Adriana Garrisini, receptionists Gemma Woodward and Angela Rice, practice therapist Rachel Jeff and dental nurses Debbie Barnes, Lianne King and Samantha Moore.
The premises had been empty since the £35m Washington Square development was built nearly three years ago.
NHS Cumbria, the primary care trust, will manage the appointments in partnership with Oasis Dental Care Ltd, which has more than 175 practices nationwide. Patients are being allocated to the 30,000 places in stages with patients who have waited longest on the dental database being offered the opportunity to register for a dental place.
There are 15,000 people in West Cumbria on the NHS Cumbria dental database.
Letters are being sent out in batches of 1,000.
David Tyson, NHS Cumbria’s lead commissioner for dentistry and oral health, said: “We would ask that people registered on the dental database are patient and reassure them that if they don’t receive a letter immediately, they will not miss their opportunity to access NHS dentistry in their area. The allocation process will continue to accelerate as each practice gets up and running.”
First published at 11:30, Friday, 31 July 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
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