Oral surgery waiting lists can be reduced within 6 weeks

DentalXpress CIC - a social enterprise created to help address inequalities and access issues in NHS dentistry - has announced that it is able to assist Primary Care Trusts by undertaking short-term contracts or pilots to reduce minor oral surgery waiting lists. The organisation can arrange for a state-of-the-art mobile dental operating theatre to be up and running in a suitable location within 6 weeks to allow PCTs to clear part or all of a minor oral surgery waiting list within a fixed period or provide a temporary or interim service while a longer-term solution is being commissioned. The flexibility of the provision means that these short-term contracts or pilots can be swiftly underway once a site has been identified. Read more here ...

DentalXpress works in collaboration with Vanguard Healthcare UK, which has many years’ experience assisting the NHS by providing mobile operating theatres to reduce surgical waiting times.  It has also worked with Leicester and Rutland PCT to provide an interim dental service in the Syston area of its territory.

The provision of minor oral surgery is an extension of its newly launched services and includes a number of procedures which can be carried out under local anaesthesia.

The service can be set up with minimal trouble to the PCT as DentalXpress and Vanguard’s logistical experts carry out an assessment of each location; the area required to accommodate the mobile unit its proximity to general hospital services, as well as access roads, power, drainage and so on. Publicity and communication about the service to the local community can also be provided.

 DentalXpress spokesman Amarjit Gill explained the background to the foundation of the organisation: The population of the UK is projected to rise to 67 million by 2031 and as NHS dentistry budgets decline, there is going to be even greater pressure on already limited resources, as funding is further stretched.  Primary Care Trusts are constantly looking for innovative solutions and don’t want to invest in fixed practices at a cost of £500 000 to £750 000 if the demand for dentistry does not materilise.   Recent reports highlighted a number of priority groups as being at greatest risk of suffering poor oral dental health including the elderly, the young, people with learning difficulties, mental health sufferers, the homeless and prisoners.  The DentalXpress Acute Access Programme has a mission to provide logistical support to Primary Care Trusts in areas where little or no access to NHS dentistry currently exists and commitment to a fixed practice in areas of greatest need is often impossible for a number of reasons”

The recent BDA report on Dental Futures highlighted a number of priority groups as being at greatest risk of suffering poor oral health. These included the elderly, the young, people with learning difficulties, mental health sufferers, the homeless and prisoners.

Data from the NHS Information Centre released recently shows that only 53.5 per cent of the population saw an NHS dentist in the two years ending March 2009. In an effort to rectify this parlous situation, The Government stated in May this year "We aim to ensure that everyone who wants to see an NHS dentist can by March 2011." However the same data source showed that last year nearly 50 per cent of NHS dentists did not take on any new patients, so new and innovative ways to deal with the shortfall are desperately needed. 

The organisation's mobile practice provision means that it can operate efficiently and cost effectively across the whole of the United Kingdom and wherever a dental practice is needed, a DentalXpress mobile unit can be on the spot in a very short space of time, offering a reliable, high quality service.