West Yorkshire patients ‘turning to emergency dental care due to poor NHS access’

A new study has indicated that a lack of access to NHS care is leading many West Yorkshire patients to turn to emergency dental clinics.

The Healthwatch report, highlighted by BBC News, suggested that 60 percent of 250 people they spoke to at emergency clinics did not have access to an NHS dentist and did not need emergency dental work.

It was also found that the service in West Yorkshire was disproportionately being used by younger people and those from south Asian communities.

The watchdog said this shows NHS England has not spent time understanding why people use unplanned dental clinics and what patients need from this service, meaning the current system is not fit for purpose.

Responding to these findings, Alison Knowles, locality director at NHS England for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: "We are now reviewing the urgent dental care service with the specific aim of further increasing the funding that's targeted at routine access to dental care."