NHS dental patients face uncertainty during closure

Some NHS dental patients are facing uncertainty over their treatment after a practice announced it was temporarily closing.

Smile Dental, which ordinarily operates from a base at Ramsey Cottage Hospital, had been holding appointments at a Manx Care site in Douglas while the hospital site was refurbished.

However, the practice said the alternative location was "unsuitable" and a further delay until at least September meant it "could not guarantee safe, reliable patient care or continue to operate to the required clinical and professional standards".

Manx Care has been contacted for a response.

Apologising for the "disruption and uncertainty", Manx Care said in a statement on Friday that work was ongoing to "clarify the position and restore local dental provision".

"We recognise that this situation will be concerning and inconvenient for patients," the healthcare provider said.

Smile Dental had been the only practice offering NHS services in north of the island.

The services were relocated to the island's capital in December last year while significant refurbishment works, including pest control measures, were carried out at the northern hospital.

Although all the disrupted services were initially due to return to Ramsey by April, "ongoing essential building works" saw a revised timeline issued.

Under the new timeframe, the minor injuries unit, radiology and bone density scanning services, the blood clinic and some outpatient services would be reopened in mid-May.

However, no date has been confirmed for the return of other services – including the dental practice – to Ramsey.

Initially moved to the Hillside Dental Practice in Douglas in December, Smile Dental's services were further relocated to operate from within the Community Dental Service at the Central Community Health Centre in January.

The practice said while it had originally been advised the move would be short-term, it had now been informed that September was the "earliest possible return date", signalling a "much longer term situation".

"We are working on the basis that services will resume once Ramsey Cottage Hospital reopens and the practice can return to a fully equipped, appropriate clinical environment," it added.

The practice had been allocating appointments on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at the temporarily location, with a shuttle bus for patients operating from Ramsey.

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