A new NHS dental practice in Southampton has opened for business today, providing a much-needed to boost to patients in the Hampshire region.
The Copse Lane Dental Surgery in the Hamble area will be able to take on 6,000 new patients over the next 12 months and people have been registering to see a dentist since the start of last week.
However, only those who live within the NHS Hampshire area are able to enrol at the practice, meaning its services are not available to residents of Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight .
Julia Bagshaw, associate director for primary care commissioning for NHS Hampshire, said: "We are very excited that this new practice is opening and we are able to offer more NHS dental care to local residents."
"We have decided to release the vacancies in batches so we can avoid people having to wait six months or more for their initial assessment and wondering if they are on the list or not."
"Please don't worry if you can't register straight away as there will be places available over the next 12 months."
People wishing to register with the new surgery must call the Dental Helpline on 0845 050 8345, weekdays between 8.30am and 5pm, or use the online registration form at hampshiredentalhelpline.nhs.uk




