Blossom Family Dental Care on Blossom Street is writing to all its patients saying it will no longer treat adults on the NHS from April 1.
In its letter the practice says it ‘made the very difficult decision’ due to the ‘increased difficulty in recruiting NHS dentists and the chronic lack of funding the NHS is providing’.
Instead, it is offering adult patients a ‘membership plan’ under which it will treat them on a private basis, with the cost of routine care spread across the year.
It says it will continue to prioritise children on the NHS ‘for as long as we are able’.
The Press has been contacted by several patients who have spoken of their shock and dismay.
Gill Myers said she had been a patient with the practice for ‘about 30 years’.
“I’m just angry in general about the lack of NHS provision,” she said: “I’m 79, my teeth are not that brilliant.”
Gill said she had been offered a private dental plan at the practice which came out at £18.65 a month. That would cover the cost of two check-ups and two hygiene appointments a year, she said – but not the cost of any treatment needed.
She said she would just ‘wait and see’ for a bit – and then would probably shop around to see if she could get a better deal.
But she there would be some patients who would be unable to afford to go private at all.
With other practices in York either not accepting NHS patients, or with very long waiting lists to get accepted, there would be many who thought ‘oh, well, I’ll just hope for the best’ she said.
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Phil Shepherdson, 72, from Woodthorpe, has also received a letter from the practice.
A couple of years ago he got so desperate when he couldn’t get to see a dentist that he pulled out one of his own teeth.
“I will probably have to do that again!” he said.
Both York’s MPs – York Central’s Rachael Maskell and York Outer’s Julian Sturdy – say they have approached the practice after being contacted by worried constituents.
Conservative Mr Sturdy said he would be meeting with the practice on February 5 to ‘seek further clarification about what led to this decision’.
He added: “I have written to our Integrated Care Board (ICB), who is responsible for the commissioning and re-commissioning of NHS dental care contracts, to raise my concerns … and I will be meeting with the Chief Operating Officer to discuss what can be done specifically in York to improve access to NHS dental care.”
But Labour’s Ms Maskell said that what was needed was a complete overhaul of the ‘failed’ NHS contracts for dental care.
She stressed that many York people simply would not be able to afford a private dental care plan.
As well as looking after your teeth, dentists could keep an eye out for early signs of bacterial infection or even oral cancer, she said. “This is really serious.”
A spokesperson for the Yorkshire and Humber integrated Care Board said: “We are very aware of the difficulties some people face when trying to access an NHS dentist – not just in York …but nationally.
“Since taking over responsibility for commissioning dental services in Humber and North Yorkshire in April last year, we have been trying to maintain and improve services across our area.”
People not registered with a dental practice who found themselves with severe tooth pain, heavy bleeding or swelling of the mouth should contact NHS 111 which can ‘refer patients to an urgent dental service’, the spokesperson said.
The Press approached Blossom Family Dental Care for a comment.
