Hopes to solve Isle of Wight dentist crisis with mobile bus

It comes as a patient watchdog has been told of almost impossible searches to find an NHS practice taking new patients on the Island and one person pulling out their own teeth in desperation.

Revealed by health bosses on Monday, the strategy would have three prongs of attack — a dental bus, creating a centre of dental development and fair pay across dental contracts.

Simon Cooper, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board's (ICB) director of pharmacy, optometry and dentistry, told the Isle of Wight Council's health and social care scrutiny committee he hoped the strategy would stop the situation getting worse.

Mr Cooper said improvements could start within a year — through the dental bus or if more dentists were to come forward — although significant leaps could take four or five years.

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The bus would come to the Island for weeks at a time providing access to a dentist for those who cannot see an NHS one.

Other improvements could see a centre of dental development started on the Island, working with Portsmouth Dental Academy, training Islanders as dentists and healthcare professionals and retaining them here in the future, although it may take two or three years to get it started, Mr Cooper said.

Another was to make pay fairer across the Island for dentists, as Mr Cooper said some dentists were being paid different amounts but doing the same work.

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The strategy was dubbed by Healthwatch Isle of Wight, as really positive and 'hope on the horizon at last'.

Manager of the patient watchdog, Joanna Smith, said for the past five years, they have not been able to help people who have come to them begging for help to access a dentist.

Ms Smith said the situation on the Island was worse compared to the mainland and going to worsen as people are now struggling to not only see a dentist but access urgent or emergency dental care, in a never-ending cycle.

The strategy will go before the ICB executive in the coming months for approval, with an update to be given to the health committee’s meeting in December.