Bishopmill Dental Centre owners Clyde Munro Dental Group pledge to fill Moray's dentist gap
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THE group behind Elgin's Bishopmill Dental Practice have committed to additional recruitment efforts in order to bring new dentists to the practice.
The news comes after around 3000 NHS patients were informed they would be de-registered from the practice, following the departure of two dentists.
Although the two remaining dentists have committed to covering the remaining 12,000 NHS patients, the move has left many in turmoil. No other practices in Moray are accepting new NHS patients and the waiting list for an NHS dentist in the area is currently closed.
Jacqui Frederick, Group Clinical Director at Clyde Munro, said: "We recognise the worry and anguish that those facing uncertainty with their NHS registrations will feel.
“We’re very sorry that we have had to do this, but it was imperative so that we could continue to provide appropriate care – including emergency cover to the remaining 12,000 NHS patients on the books at Bishopmill Dental Centre.
“This is only a temporary position for us, and we will do all we can to get cover back to those patients as soon as we possibly can.”
The group have stated that their recruitment efforts will continue and have affirmed that Bishopmill Dental Centre will not take on any new patients, including moving NHS patients onto private treatment plans, until it can re-instate NHS registrations back to previous levels.
Jacqui said: "The recruitment crisis is particularly felt in rural areas like Elgin where it can be more difficult to find dentists as it requires relocation or a long commute.
"Everything we do is about delivering the best possible dental care to patients wherever they are in Scotland. We are committed to NHS dentistry at Bishopmill Dental Centre and to getting our patient registration back to where it was and beyond.
"To support recruitment we have increased our group-wide intake of vocational dental practitioners, and are looking at ways to recruit from abroad. We are also looking to our existing dentists, hygienists and therapists to help out as possible in the meantime.
She added: “We will also keep a line of dialogue open with the Grampian Health Board as well as local representatives.”
READ MORE: Bishopmill Dental Centre moves to de-register patients
