NHS kickstarts scheme to improve dental health access in Cornwall

A new pilot project in Cornwall is underway in an effort to improve access to dental health professionals across the south-west county.

NHS England says the scheme will introduce extended opening hours at NHS practices, as well as distribute literature to GPs that advises patients on where they can obtain quality dental care.

The new measures follow the release of survey results from Healthwatch Cornwall, which found that almost half (44 per cent) of respondents were not registered with NHS dental practices.

Others cited long waiting times when asked why they failed to attend regular checkups, with Launceston, Bude and Liskeard found to be home to the county's most under-resourced clinics.

One respondent, 62-year-old St Austell resident Chris Hancock, told pollsters he would prefer to lose teeth than travel all the way to the closest practice able to offer ongoing preventative treatment.

Local NHS authorities stated: "National figures show that 93 percent of people in England who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the past two years were successful."