Making a dental appointment in Dudley borough - a mystery shopper exercise
Download (PDF 1.83 MB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Dudley had heard that it was difficult to access NHS dental treatment and wanted to understand the situation in Dudley. They undertook mystery shopping: they called 40 dental practices across the Dudley borough, presenting as a local person looking to make an NHS dental appointment. They used each of three different scenarios to discover the experience of booking routine and urgent appointments. They also looked to see if there was a difference in provision for adult and child appointments.
Key findings
- Over two thirds said they did routine NHS appointments, but only two in five offered an appointment
- Nearly half said they did urgent NHS appointments and offered one
- Over half of practices said they had reached their quota for NHS appointments
- Nearly two in five practices asked callers to register for a routine appointment
- Practices were more likely to offer private appointments for routine rather than urgent appointments.
The report contains recommendations about online information, training call handlers, clarity on services, accessibility and access to NHS appointments.