Health / Fixing the dental crisis no ‘overnight repair’ job, minister says
THERE IS no “quick fix” to resolve the dental crisis in Shetland that is leaving thousands of islanders unable to see a dentist.
However, talks to overcome the differences between NHS Shetland and Lerwick Dental Practice – the isles’ only high street practice offering NHS treatment – are ongoing.
And a number of longer-term initiatives on the national level may also lead to a better dental provision sometime in the future.
Junior health minister Maree Todd was in Shetland on Monday to chair NHS Shetland’s annual review, which was held at Mareel.
Speaking to Shetland News after the annual review meeting the minister for sport, , drugs & alcohol policy said there was no quick fix to fill the gap in dental provision.
Asked during the Q&A session of the meeting about the current state of dentistry in the isles, chief executive Brian Chittick said the health board was working on a number of initiatives to improve the situation.
“The reassurance I can give is that we are working on it,” Chittick said.
“We can’t provide all the care; we know that we have got to have an independent sector in Shetland; that’s how dentistry is set up in Scotland.
“Quite a lot of work is going on into the workforce. We have a young vocational dental practitioner coming up to work for us from late summer, and that is a really good opportunity to showcase Shetland.
“We are trying to grow our workforce right from the beginning of their careers, but we are also still out for recruitment for dentists to come in to join the service.”
Regarding the situation at Lerwick Dental Practice which deregistered around 2,000 NHS patients in autumn of last year in response “to ongoing issues” with the health board, Chittick said: “We have been working with Lerwick Dental practice to learn what sets the conditions for them to be able to do more NHS dentistry.
“We are trying to list more dentists and support them to list more dentists, that definitely is the outcome we try to get to […] so we are trying to work together for the whole system to and to improve that for everybody in the community.”
Chittick said he could easily sympathise with the frustration people are experiencing as he, with a background in dentistry, also has not had a dentist appointment in five years.
“It is very tough, and I am one of them, so I absolutely get where people are coming from, and the frustration that plays out,” he said.
“I want to reassure the public that we do everything we can in trying to attract and recruit both within the independent and the NHS sector.”
Todd meanwhile said work was going on across the board to review and change how dentists are being paid, and how they can be attracted to work in rural areas.
“There is also work going on to unlock the barriers for people who come to this country and who are qualified dentists,” she said.
“There is no single way to tackle this issue, and we are trying hard to make sure we are creative and innovatively finding any solution possible.
With regards to the local solution, she added: “I am assured that NHS Shetland understand the challenge well and are looking for solutions to it.
“It sounded to me like they are confident that they are progressing towards solution. Again, I don’t think it will be an overnight repair.”
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