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This from Ieuan Jehu, Freshwater. Ed
On Thursday (12/9) patients registered with the mydentist practice in Freshwater finally received the official notice that, as of 31st October 2024, the only dental practice treating NHS patients west of Newport will indeed be closing.
The letter sent to patients states,
“For the last 24 months we have been trying all avenues to recruit an NHS clinician to the practice. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we have not been able to secure a dentist long term under the NHS.
“We have also attempted to keep the practice open by seeking a new owner for the future but unfortunately despite our best efforts this has been unsuccessful.”
mydentist group not open to offers of assistance
From what I have learned while campaigning to maintain an NHS Dentistry provision for the 10,000 strong community in Freshwater, Yarmouth and Totland, this does not appear to be an accurate account.
It was on 1st August 2024 that the mydentist Group gave notice of their intention to close the Freshwater practice to the Integrated Care Board (ICB). Soon after that, local NHS services commissioners, along with another provider of dentistry services on the Island, reached out to the mydentist Group, seeking to establish if there was any assistance which could be offered to maintain the provision in Freshwater. The mydentist group was not open to those offers of assistance.
Over the last four-five years, there have been at least two occasions when mydentist almost completed the sale of the practice in Freshwater. The uncertainty around those attempted sales contributed to two NHS dental practitioners leaving the practice, as their ability to stay in the UK was dependent on them having stable employment.
It was the mydentist Group’s decision to leave Freshwater which caused the staffing problems, not the other way around.
1,200 signature petition
Although I set up a petition with the stated aim of persuading the mydentist Group to keep the practice open until a new service provider can be found, I was quick to realise this would not be a realistic outcome. I have therefore been exploring other avenues to maintain an NHS dentistry provision in the West Wight.
With the help of Healthwatch IW, we have been looking to find an alternative organisation to take on the lease of the Freshwater dental practice and protect the jobs of those employed there.
Reason to be optimistic: But it will take time
There is reason to be optimistic that we may yet see a positive outcome.
Even if we are successful in finding a new organisation to take on the practice, there will be a period of transition during which the practice will close.
An application will need to be submitted to the Care Quality Commission, seeking approval for the premises to be used as a dental practice. And a new contract with NHS England will need to be agreed with the ICB.
Share your issues with Healthwatch IW
It may be possible to put pressure on the ICB to exopodite that process by members of the public writing to Healthwatch IW to report any problems they are experiencing with accessing NHS dentistry services.
While campaigning to save this provision, I have come to understand the true extent of the problems with dentistry on the Island. Just 23% of adults on the Island saw an NHS dentist in the year to April 2024 and the ICB (who is responsible for commissioning primary healthcare services on the Island) has sat by idle while we have lost five dental practices in the last 18 months.
The role of Healthwatch
The Darzi report on the state of the NHS, which was published this week, highlights that most people do not understand the function of an ICB and even fewer are aware of the limited ways by which they can be held to account.
That is the function of Healthwatch IW.
The way in which Healthwatch can hold the ICB to account for their failures to meet their statutory obligations, is by compiling reports which include a set of recommendations. Then, should the ICB fail to act on those recommendations, they can be questioned at regular meetings with the IW Council’s Health and Care Committee.
It only works if the public engage
It is not a good system, with no one having any power to punish the ICB for their failures, but it is all the last Tory government left us with; and it only works if the public engage with the system by reporting their experiences to Healthwatch.
In the hope of improving NHS dentistry provision for all Islanders, when I meet with Richard Quigley MP on Wednesday to hand over the petition to save the dentist in Freshwater, I will invite him to join me in making an appeal for all Islanders to report their problems with accessing NHS dentistry services (or any other services for that matter) to Healthwatch IW.
Lack of patient voice
Lord Darzi identifies lack of patient voice as one of the four main causal factors contributing to the NHS being in a “critical condition”.
Islanders must use our voice, amplified through Healthwatch IW, to secure the improvements to healthcare services which we all need.
