New Dental Practice Creates 7,000 NHS Dental Places

Mon, 23 Jun 2008

The residents of Shelton, Staffordshire, have been boosted by the news that around 7,000 NHS dental places have been made available following the opening of a new £1m dental practice .

The practice is being set up by private company Alchemy, which was awarded a £650,000 a year contract from Stoke-on-Trent Primary Care Trust (PCT) following an intense bidding war.

The decision to open a new practice in the area comes in response to latest figures which revealed that two out of three Shelton residents have no access to a dentist, and a month after 5,000 patients were left without NHS care when a practice was forced to suddenly close.

The centre, due to open in Shelton in six weeks time, will be staffed by four newly recruited dentists who will be supported by over 30 hygienists, therapists, technicians and support staff to make it one of Staffordshire's largest practices.

An Alchemy spokesman said the new practice will "be something for the area to be proud of".

"It will be state-of-the-art and exceed the expectations of people in those neighbourhoods," he commented. "There will be nine surgeries off a waiting area, plus a drop-in centre for people in pain and a lecture room."

"We will have vocational training and forge close links with the local community as well as universities and schools . We will try to give priority to local people but others can also apply to be registered," the spokesman added.

PCT planning head Ian Gibson said: "We invested in the Shelton and Hanley West ward after an audit showed only 35 per cent of people had access to a dentist, which is the lowest in the city ."

"We have warned our dental advice line to expect an increase in calls because we want to start a waiting list early so the practice can get cracking from day one."
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