Thousands to lose NHS and private dentists as Caernarfon practice to close in February:
NHS AND PRIVATE CARE WILL BE HIT
THOUSANDS of NHS and private dental patients will be forced to find a new dentist after a health company announced the closure of two North Wales practices.
Bupa told staff last week it would be closing practices on Prince’s Drive, Colwyn Bay, and on Cibyn Industrial Estate, Caernarfon, in February of next year.
It is believed more than 20 staff work across the two sites and the closures will reportedly affect more than 20,000 patients, although the company declined to say precisely how many.
Bupa, which planned to tell customers by the end of last week, said appointments due before February next year will be unaffected.
Sharon Drury, regional operations director at Bupa dental care, said: “We’ve taken the difficult decision to close two of our practices in North Wales.
“There won’t be any immediate changes and we are working with the NHS and other nearby practices to help patients transfer to a new dentist.
“We’re also working to support our colleagues and will look to find them alternative employment options within Bupa wherever possible.”
The company said all other sites in North Wales would be unaffected by the changes.
The company hasn’t confirmed why the closures are being made, although the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands it is because they are not seen as being financially viable.
Bupa denied the Covid19 pandemic had played a part in the decision.
Meanwhile Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has pledged to step into the breach – but it could mean a dearth of services in the short term.
Dr Chris Stockport, Betsi Cadwaladr’s executive director of primary and community care, said the board will be commissioning replacement dental services “as early as possible”.
He added: “We are also developing plans to establish dental professional education and development facilities in the locality, which will help to improve the recruitment and retention of dental clinicians and provide further capacity.
“However, because of the timescales required to undertake this work, there will be a short period of time during which access to NHS dental services in North West Wales will, unfortunately, be limited.
“During this time we will be increasing the availability of access to urgent and priority dental care for patients who find themselves without a regular dentist, and identifying local practices with the capacity to temporarily increase provision of routine dental services.”
Patients seeking an alternative NHS practice can find a list of practices and their contact details on the NHS 111 Wales and Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board website.
Patients finding themselves in urgent need of a dentist should contact NHS Direct Wales on 0845 4647.