'I used to go for a check-up every six months and there was never a problem'

AN Armagh mother who has been unable to get access to NHS dental treatment for the past three years has hit out at the lack of services available for patients.

Cait Farrell’s plight has been ongoing since 2021, when a dentist from the Armagh practice to which she belongs left and was never replaced.

Despite repeated calls to the surgery, where she has attended for the past 25 years, Cait has been informed she can be given an appointment, but it will be as a private patient and not under the NHS.

The 39-year-old explained how her dilemma has been further added to by the fact she is currently on maternity leave and entitled to free dental care, having welcomed her first child - a baby girl - into the world, just 14 weeks ago.

Cait told the Gazette: “I had never experienced a problem before, I used to go for a check-up every six months and there was never a problem, I could always get an appointment not a problem.

“It all started during Covid and it is just unbelievable. I’ve been ringing and I ring all the time and they said ‘until we replace that dentist, we can’t give you an appointment. We can give you a private appointment if you like, but not under NHS’.

“It appears that this is a serious situation all over. People just cannot get dental appointments on the NHS. I could get a private appointment all day long if I wanted it, but it’s fairly costly.

“I’m just loathe to go private when I am an NHS patient. I think why should I have to, especially when I am off on maternity pay at the moment, and also the fact that I’m also entitled to free dental care while I was pregnant and a year after but it’s no good to me because I can’t get an appointment?

“I am just irritated by it as it is something you are entitled to but you can’t access it.

“It is more irritating too the fact they are offering patients private appointments, so it’s not like they don’t have the availability. They do have the availability, they are just refusing to do it on the NHS, but if you want to pay private, I could get an appointment this afternoon.

“I gave out a stink there just before Christmas and I was like, ‘this is ridiculous, I haven’t had a check-up in three years’. The girl said ‘Oh look, I can get you an appointment for January’ and she got me an appointment and I just got a text message then saying your appointment has been cancelled.

“I haven’t had an NHS appointment in three years. I have been private in between times because I took an abscess and I couldn’t get an appointment so I have been paying privately and I’ve been to the dental hygienist as well, which obviously is not covered under NHS.

“I have just had to suck it up and go private, but I haven’t been able to get a general check-up. I’ve only been for emergency dental treatment because I had to.

“I’m on maternity pay and I just can’t afford it and to me that’s a frivolous waste of money and the whole reason that you get free dental care when you are on maternity leave is that you are more at risk after having a baby of having dental problems.

“In the hospital, the midwife tells you to make sure and book in for your dental treatment as it is a part of your maternity care to look after yourself, but I can’t do it as nobody is going to see me.

“I’m now getting to the point where I’m going to Dundalk because it’s cheaper to go private in Dundalk, so that’s where I’m going and that’s where my husband is going.”

Cait has tried countless other dental practices around the local area in her quest to be taken on as an NHS patient, but to no avail.

“I rang around everywhere, every single dentist in Armagh,” she said. “With the dental treatment, it’s not like the GP surgery, you don’t have to go to your locality, you can go anywhere, so I also rang Dungannon, Moy, Newry, Portadown, everywhere to try and get in and literally nobody will take on NHS patients.

“For people that’s working, that’s fine, people are happy to pay private, but especially for people who are on benefits, on maternity pay or older people... My child is literally only 14 weeks now but I’m sitting thinking am I going to be able to get her registered with a dentist? She’s my first child, but am I going to have to go private with her?

“It just feels unfair, it feels like there is definitely a move towards privatising the dental system, because there are numerous dental appointments available if you want to go private.

“I’m not the only one experiencing this. I have spoken to a few people. My cousin lives in Bangor and she is having the exact same issue in Bangor, so it is by no means an Armagh issue alone - it is happening everywhere.

“I understand dentists go to school and they learn and they want to make as much money as they can, it’s not a vocation, it’s a business, but they are supposed to be servicing NHS clients and they are just not doing it, they are just refusing to do it.

“It is just terrible and it does feel like they are trying to push people towards going private and, with the cost of living crisis, it couldn’t have come at a worse time for people!”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health told the Gazette: “Patients do not need to live within a certain area to register with a dental practice. They can register with any practice willing to register them.

“The HSC service finder can be used to search for dental practices and is available at https://online.hscni.net/hsc-service-finder/.

“Practices can be sorted by location. Initially, the first four characters of a postcode should be inserted into the search box but, depending on results, it may be necessary to extend the search further. A contact number for each dental practice is available and will hopefully help your constituents find a practice which will register their child.

“Further information for patients is also available at https://online.hscni.net/our-work/dental-services/registering-dental-patient/

“General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) are independent contractors and are not obliged to register new Health Service patients.

“The demand for private dentistry in Northern Ireland has increased and certainly some dental practices are committing more time to those patients, resulting in increased waiting lists for Health Service patients.

“The Department has invested an additional £90m in General Dental Services via the Financial Support Scheme and Rebuilding Support Scheme since April 2020. This came to an end in July 2023 due to the severe financial pressures arising from the Department’s 2023/24 budget settlement.

“In terms of sustaining dental services into the future, the Department remains committed to dental reform and wants to implement the increase in dental fees to dentists as soon as the funding is made available to the Department as part of the overall public sector pay arrangements.”