3,000 in dentist waiting room

Denise Smith, a head of primary care from North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT), gave an update on the area's latest dental position to City of York Council's health scrutiny committee this week.

She said: "Just over 3,000 people are still waiting to be allocated a dentist. The vast majority of those are from the York area."

Last April, dental services across the country went through a huge shake-up when contracts moved from the Department of Health to primary care trusts.

In Selby and York, seven practices opted out of the NHS altogether rather than sign up to the controversial new deal.

The former Selby and York PCT introduced a dental waiting list in 2005 so that people who wanted to sign up to an NHS dentist would not have to ring round different surgeries.

Ms Smith told councillors this week that since the list had been started, more than 10,800 people had been allocated an NHS dentist, more than 8,000 of them in York. Those people who were being allocated places now had first gone on the list between September and November last year, she said.

The PCT is now aiming to get an NHS dentist for people on its waiting list within six months of signing on.

It has also pledged to deliver thousands of new dental slots for patients in the area. Ms Smith told the meeting that 3,500 of these spaces were still to be added.

Expansion plans have been agreed with seven practices in York, with a tender put out to secure further capacity.

Ms Smith told councillors: "We hope to be able to award a contract shortly.

We're still encouraging people to put their details on the database for those who don't have a dentist currently."

Back in August, there were 3,085 people on the waiting list for a place in York and Selby.

At the beginning of October, that had risen to 3,896 people - but it has now dropped again.

There are 26 NHS dental practices in York, of which nine only do orthodontic work and 17 are general dentists.

To join the dental database, phone 01904 724107.