Congratulations are order for West Wight residents, as Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) confirm they are no longer under threat of losing their last dental practice.
myDentist, who have a dental practice in Freshwater and serve residents from the surrounding areas, had announced over the summer that they would close their practice on 31st October 2024.
Co-ordinated campaign
What followed was a campaign led by resident Ieuan Jehu, who not only co-ordinated online and paper petitions — attracting 1000s of signatures — but also air time on the BBC and the involvement of the Isle of Wight West MP, Richard Quigley.
ICB: There is now a provisional agreement in place
As spokesperson from the ICB told OnTheWight,
“There are more details to be worked out and we will have something more concrete to share over the next day or so, but there is now a provisional agreement in place with another provider to take on the contract following our work with them and the local community over the last few weeks.”
Roach: Have had a range of conversations
Last month, James Roach, director for primary care at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, explained the work they had been doing,
“Since MyDentist in Freshwater announced their decision to close, NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight has been working with the local MP, councillors and local NHS dental providers to ensure patients in the area would still be able to access NHS dental services.
“We have had a range of very productive conversations with key local stakeholders on solutions to maintain NHS dentistry in Freshwater and all options are currently on the table.”
mydentist: We’ve been forced to make the difficult decision to close our practice
In August, a spokesperson for mydentist said,
“Unfortunately, we’ve been forced to make the difficult decision to close our practice in Freshwater on 31st October 2024.
“This is not a decision we’ve taken lightly. Dental practices across the UK continue to face a severe shortage of NHS dentists, hitting areas such as the Isle of Wight particularly hard.”
