Focus on dentists
Download (PDF 834.34 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Medway wanted to find out and understand the issues people in Medway are having when they want to see a dentist.
They spoke to 94 people in total and found that:
- Over half of them were either not registered with an NHS dentist, or had problems getting an appointment with their NHS dentist.
- Some people also reported having problems registering their children with NHS dentists.
- Healthwatch also spoke to a few practices to get their perspective. They told them that they prioritise registration of children - only 2 practices were accepting NHS patients, but only if they were children.
- The findings suggest that Covid has exacerbated the health inequalities that already existed for people who are trying to access a dentist in Medway.
Healthwatch have made five recommendations for the Medway Joint Strategic Needs Assessment highlighting the growing inequality in access to dentalcare within Medway and its impact on people, especially children.