The people of Bradford are struggling to find an NHS dentist, the Telegraph and Argus reports. Some patients have reported resorting to ‘D.I.Y.’ procedures, due to lack of places available at NHS dentists across the city. Others have been forced to attend their local Accident and Emergency department to gain treatment for what should have been routine issues, if addressed in a timely manner.
Statistics show that nearly half of the adult population of Bradford are not registered with an NHS dentist and a third of children are in the same predicament. When asked why people have not registered with a dentist, many have said that they have tried to find a practice that would register them,but to no avail.
An anonymous male from the Bradford Four area (BD4) was quoted in a report by Healthwatch saying it took eight years for a dentist place to become available to him, “I’ve ended up extracting one of my own wisdom teeth, which in this day and age is ludicrous. Dentistry has in effect privatised itself.”Healthwatch manager, Victoria Simmons, revealed that the organisation has ‘major concerns’ about the state of NHS dentistry in Bradford.