Long waits for kids who need braces on teeth
CONCERNS have been raised about long waiting lists for children who need braces on their teeth.
They come amid an NHS shake-up that has seen Huddersfield’s main provider of orthodontics lose its contract, slashing the amount of treatment available by half.
Only Orthodontics at Greenhead Road, which has provided about 75% of the NHS treatment for Huddersfield patients over the past 25 years, has been told its services are no longer required.
About 8,000 children are on its books, with 4,700 still waiting to be treated.
Owners of the company appealed the decision but lost and the new provider will take over in April 2020.
The move has caused anger and confusion among parents whose children have been waiting years for treatment.
A legal challenge of the NHS process has thrown further uncertainty into the mix.
One mum, who did not want to be named, told the Examiner her 13-yearold daughter had been on the waiting list for braces since she was 10.
She said she had no idea how much longer the wait would be.
She said: “My daughter has been on the waiting list for braces for two-anda-half years but I am now told she won’t be seen by Only Orthodontics and there’s no direction as to who will see her or even when she will be seen.
“At present they have a four year wait for NHS patients.
“When my daughter first went in 2017 it was a two-and-a-half year wait.
“There is no communication of whether the lists will be honoured by the new provider or whether we have to start again.”
One of the partners at Only Orthodontics, John Derbyshire, said they were upset to lose the contract, especially as the NHS procurement exercise had not even involved a visit to the practice or any account of their performance over the past 25 years.
He said: “The NHS has decided, against our wishes, to re-commission their services from a different provider.
“The new NHS provider for the whole of Kirklees and Calderdale will be Saltaire Orthodontics. The change will take place on April 1 2020.
“The amount of treatment available in Huddersfield will be reduced by half, but they are hoping to compensate this reduction by increasing the amount available elsewhere in Kirklees and Calderdale.”
Mr Derbyshire said the NHS had told them that waiting lists would be honoured when they are merged onto a new central system.
He said they were hoping to complete the treatment of patients already being treated but the funding was not yet secured.
And he revealed they were hoping to launch a range of services that were affordable alternatives to NHS treatment.
He added: “We currently have 1,500 patients under treatment, 4,700 patients on a waiting list for treatment, 1,500 patients under review and 250 referred patients who are still waiting to be seen for the first time.
“There are therefore nearly 8,000 local children affected by this decision.”
An NHS England and NHS Improvement spokesperson in North East and Yorkshire said: “The procurement of the new agreements has been informed by a local needs assessment with the aim of ensuring equity of access our region.
“Information on the new agreement will be made available once the discussions to finalise the agreement with the successful provider have concluded.
“For most patients there may be no change and they will continue to be treated by their current orthodontist.
“In the event that patient care needs to be transferred to a new provider, patients will be informed and NHS England will work with the existing practice, and the new provider to make the transfer of care as smooth as possible.”