Tayport’s Old Bank dental clinic has informed patients that it will close due to a shortage of qualified staff.
Real Good Dental – which runs the clinic – blamed the closure on a failure to an recruit NHS dentist despite “many months” of trying.
The imminent closure will leave the north Fife community without a local dentist – forcing them to travel outside the area for treatment.
In a letter seen by The Courier, the operator wrote: “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic general dentistry worldwide has suffered massively.
Failure to recruit new dentist
“General dental practitioners are at an all-time shortage leaving many dental practices unable to recruit enough suitable staff.”
Patients are being told they will have to agree to have their registrations moved to clinics in Cupar or Dundee, or register with another NHS dentist.
Those registered at the Tayport clinic have 12 weeks to find alternative dental provision before their registration is terminated.
Real Good Dental Company has been contacted for comment.
Fife now has 32 fewer NHS dentists than it did in 2019 – with local politicians saying the lack of dental care creating a potential “ticking time bomb”.
North East Fife MSP Willie Rennie has expressed concern at the closure and called on the Scottish Government to do more support dental practices.
Alterative practices at Cupar and Dundee
He said: “I know people in Tayport and the surrounding area who rely on the dentist will be worried about having to travel further for dental care or find another dentist accepting new NHS patients.
“Over recent months I have heard a lot of concern from constituents about difficulties accessing NHS dental treatment.
“I have spoken with local dentists, including holding a meeting last month, to understand the problems they are facing, and have raised these issues in parliament.
“There is no doubt that the Scottish Government needs to do more to support dental services, or they will continue to struggle as this decision about Tayport’s service shows.
“This is part of a pattern where across Fife there are now 32 fewer dental practices providing NHS care.
“I will continue to press ministers to take the problems in dentistry seriously and to act urgently.
“This includes fixing the current system of NHS funding which leaves dentists out of pocket for much of the work they do.”
Scottish Government says MSP’s claim is incorrect
Responding to Mr Rennie’s concerns, Scottish Government spokesperson said the MSP’s claims of fewer dental practices in Fife were “factually inaccurate”.
Information shows there were 32 fewer dentists in Fife providing NHS dentistry, not dental practices, in the period January – November 2022.
A spokesperson said: “These claims are factually inaccurate, and do not reflect official statistics on NHS dentistry in Scotland.
“On the contrary, the latest Public Health Scotland statistics show over 1.6 million NHS examination appointments were completed between April and October with an average of more than 300,000 courses of treatment per month, meaning we are set for over 3.5 million contacts in the 2022/23 financial year.
“This constitutes an increase of 40% in NHS dental activity compared with 2021-22.”
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