A dentist's practice in Romiley has written to local patients to announce that it will stop providing NHS services. 

The announcement means that there are no longer any dentists in Romiley which provide NHS treatment. 

Local Lib Dem councillor and Parliamentary candidate Lisa Smart said: "Everyone should be able to access a NHS dentist if they need one. Instead, people across our area are faced with a stark choice between expensive private care and no care at all. This has to change."

Around 3,000 dentists have left the NHS since the Covid pandemic. 

According to HealthWatch, recruitment and increased running costs are primarily responsible for the dentists' change in services. 

Similarly, nearby Disbury dental practice said: "The NHS is underfunded and overstretched, which is sadly resulting in many dentists leaving the institution to work in private dentistry instead."

Around one quarter of UK residents use private dentistry. 

In an open letter to Health Minister Steve Barclay, Cllr Smart said: "On behalf of my residents, who are faced with a stark choice between extensive private care and no care at all, please can you commit to ensuring that there are NHS dentists in my ward well before the likely timescale of your current approach."

Cllr Smart added: "The Government's plans to address this are to require newly qualified dentists to do a guaranteed amount of NHS work. However, if there are no surgeries in the area doing that, it seems likely to drive those dentists to work elsewhere, making the situation worse, not better."

~

Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stockport Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our town.

To get our top stories in your inbox each week, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter HERE.

Please consider following Stockport Nub News on Facebook or Twitter