Nottinghamshire County Teaching Primary Care Trust is being given an extra £1.9m to increase access to NHS dentists locally. The Government is giving every PCT in the country extra funding to provide services for new patients who have not accessed NHS dental services within the past two years. In Nottinghamshire County, the PCT will be working with local dentists to look at ways in which services can be expanded to cater for an additional 37,500 new patients over the next three years.

In order to develop services to meet the needs of local communities, the PCT is asking for views on where and how access to NHS dental services across the county could be improved. In workshop events patients and the public were given a chance to share their views. The workshop looked at what currently works well, where there are gaps in provision, reasons why people avoid going to see a dentist and how it could be made easier to see one. A similar event was held in the evening for local dentists to give their views and to explain to them how they can bid for some of the funding to expand their services.

There are currently 85 dental practices across the county which offer NHS services. The PCT carries out monthly surveys to check how many are taking on new patients. A survey in March indicated there was access across the county with around 15 practices able to take on new patients. Jon Holliday, assistant director for primary care contracting, said: “We want to be able to give greater financial support to help establish new practices and expand existing surgeries so that people living in Nottinghamshire can access an NHS dentist when they need to.”

The PCT is looking to award additional contracts to expand capacity in the county by June 2008.