One in seven of the inhabitants on the isle of Skye are currently on a waiting list for an NHS dentist, leaving a large percentage of the population with a 200-mile round trip to get dental treatment when they need it.
1,630, which is about 13% of the islands population, are waiting to register with a dental practice and many are forced to travel to Inverness, Dingwall, or Fort William to access treatment – all of these locations are at least 100miles away. This problem has developed due to an historic lack of dentists on the island and also despite a new £1.2million clinic being built in Portree last year, which was supposed to improve the NHS services on Skye.
Portree and Braes Community Council chairman, David Hearn, said that there was a serious problem with dental care on the island; he told The Scotsman ‘I know of people who are travelling… to see a dentist. We would obviously like to see the local practice able to accommodate all the people who need dental treatment here.’
A spokesman for NHS Highland said ‘Following some challenges around the recruitment of dentists, the current complement of staff was in place by February 2013. The waiting list is decreasing and all patients will be accommodated by the existing practices. An additional 452 patients have been registered since March 2012 and additional access to emergency care for those not registered with a dentist has been provided.’