New NHS dental contract awarded to Cosham surgery
CONCERNS have been raised that the location of a new NHS dental provider will be too far away from where it’s needed most.
Cosham Dental Surgery, a private practice in Cosham high street, has been awarded a contract so it can accept NHS patients from the north of the city from April next year.
It comes after NHS England confirmed Smile Dental Care would open a new site in the former GP surgery Hanway Road Medical Practice, in Buckland, for the south of Portsmouth. This is also set to open in April.
Providers were sought when Swiss company Colosseum Dental shut down its three city practices without warning in July last year - leaving thousands of people without provision.
A spokesman for NHS England said: 'During the next few months (the new providers) will be working to recruit dentists and other practice staff and carrying out essential building works.
‘More details of the practices will be shared with local residents in the new year when they are ready to start booking appointments for patients.
'In the meantime the temporary additional activity that is being provided by existing dental practices while the procurement was carried out, continues to be in place.'
However, as reported, Portsmouth councillors demanded replacements should be found in Paulsgrove and Portsea, which were both left without NHS practices last year.
Council leader Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: ‘It's what we always feared would happen.
‘The NHS doesn't seem to understand the idea of providing local services for an area. This is storing problems for the future.
‘There will be families who won't make visits to the dentist because it's too far away and it's too expensive to get there.’
Roger Batterbury, from Healthwatch Portsmouth added: ‘When it was looked at by the procurement team, which we were a part of, we had to look at the whole city. I know local politicians have called for it to be in certain areas but that wasn't part of the procurement.
‘I am just really pleased we have got two new NHS providers.
‘The two providers were absolutely the best having been part of the process.’