Dental patients ready to sign up at new Thurso clinic
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A THURSO community councillor this week welcomed the news that the £1.2 million dental clinic at the Dunbar Hospital will open on January 11.
“It has been a long time coming but this is something that should be welcomed with open arms,” said community council chairman Don Smith.
He said the facility will enable people to get NHS dental treatment in the town rather than having to go to Wick, Golspie or even further afield.
“It is certainly needed here and I hope there will be enough places for everyone who needs the facility as private dental treatment is very expensive. It is high time we had an NHS dental clinic in the town,” he added.
There are currently 4833 people on the waiting list for NHS registration in the Caithness area.
According to NHS Highland, the new practice – to be known as the Dunbar Dental Clinic – will ensure that all these patients are offered an opportunity to sign up before registration is opened to the wider community.
NHS Highland dental service development manager Alex Fraser said: “The practice is being leased to Dr John Barry and will be run as an NHS-committed practice. Once it is fully staffed, the new practice will have the capacity to register 6000 patients. It will build up its patient list over a number of months, with priority being given to patients registered with the salaried dental team, which used to provide a service in Thurso, and those on the waiting list for NHS registration.”
Ms Fraser explained that patients registered with the salaried dental team will receive a letter by January 11 advising them that their registration will be transferred to the new practice.
Patients will be contacted by the practice to arrange their next appointment when it is due but they will have the opportunity to opt out and to access care in Wick, if that is their preferred option, she stated.
Ms Fraser said the people on the waiting list for NHS registration will be prioritised into care and that will be done in stages, with the first 1500 people receiving letters before January 11. “The letter will offer patients the opportunity to register with the new practice and will ask their permission for NHS Highland to pass their details to the new practice for this purpose,” she added.
Dr Barry stressed that only patients from the waiting list will be seen until the list is cleared.
“This process will have to be stringently managed and it is estimated that it will take a minimum of 12 months,” he said.
“The clinic will contact patients from the list in the order of priority, so please do not contact the clinic unless you have been offered a place. No registrations for a place will be offered at the clinic until the waiting list has been cleared.”
The new practice will also provide emergency services for unregistered patients in partnership with the salaried dental team in Wick. But patients attending an emergency appointment at the new clinic will not be automatically registered with the practice.
