By Louise Hill - BBC LDR
A dental bus, which will visit the Isle of Wight in March, has been welcomed by a health watchdog, but the organisation says more needs to be done to fix the Island’s dentist crisis.
Healthwatch Isle of Wight has revealed the mobile service will be here for a week every month, starting from March and will visit Newport, Ryde, Sandown and the West Wight.
The Island has lost five NHS dental practices in the past year, leading to what Healthwatch has called a huge reduction in care.
The consumer champion says more residents are having to travel to the mainland to access NHS dentists, with others resorting to ‘do-it-yourself’ dentistry.
NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight — which is in charge of commissioning dental services — is working with Dentaid The Dental Charity to provide the service.
Treatment for eligible patients will be free.
Healthwatch says it is pleased to be supporting the dental bus, but has urged health bosses to go further.
Joanna Smith, Healthwatch Isle of Wight manager, said: “We have been working tirelessly with dental commissioners to facilitate this additional service but more needs to be done to reduce the inequality that exists, particularly for people living on the Island, where access is amongst the poorest in the region.
“We are very grateful to all those people who have contacted us to share their experiences, which has given us the evidence to highlight these serious issues.”
The Isle of Wight Council’s public health director was contacted for a comment, but a spokesperson said it was a matter for the Integrated Care Board.
Press Release