Healthwatch Isle of Wight has launched a new survey to capture people’s experience of dental services.
To limit Covid-19 transmissions, dental practices were instructed to close and stop all routine dental care from the 25th March 2020.
Emergency dental hubs were quickly set up to support those patients who required emergency dental care and at the beginning of June, dental practices were encouraged to begin face to face appointments again.
People have been telling us that they are struggling to find an NHS dental practice that is taking on new patients and that this seems to be getting more difficult during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The lack of access to appropriate dental services can lead not only to people having to suffer immense pain and discomfort, but can also lead to tooth loss and decay.
Dentists work with patients and the general public to prevent and treat dental disease, correct dental irregularities and treat dental and facial injuries, but they can also detect head and neck cancers and we are aware that referrals to cancer services have reduced since the start of the pandemic.
Healthwatch is interested in hearing about people’s experiences of dental services on the island.
This survey provides an opportunity for people to share their experiences, concerns and/or praise with an independent watchdog, for topics ranging from accessing an NHS dentist to receiving emergency care.
The results of the survey will be analyzed and any areas of best practice or areas highlighted as needing improvement will be reported to NHS England as the commissioner of these services, the Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group, and Public Health IOW, as well as individual dental surgeries if identified and where appropriate.
The closing date for the survey is the 31st December 2020 and it can be accessed online by visiting www.healthwatchisleofwight.co.uk. If people would like a hard copy they can contact Healthwatch Isle of Wight by ringing 01983 608608 or by emailing [email protected]
If anyone would like assistance in completing this survey contact Healthwatch Isle of Wight who will be happy to support via telephone.
I clicked to take the survbey and ended up with this:
“Survey Closed
This survey is currently closed.”
SAME tactics as HMG use when they want to show low CV cases, as they do when it is major ‘wallet emptying time’ as we had during the peak Summer months, so as not to scare off visitors, testing and numbers were kept low.
We will now have such again as ‘wallet emptying time’ of Christmas looms near, hence the lockdown now, to then be able to tell us, we have all been good boys and girls and ‘now’ (early Dec, just in time for massive spending) that numbers have dropped to safe levels once more.
So re this survey no complaints means not need to do or change anything, whilst the nation gets gummier each year
its open now,22.15pm 12/11/2020
I will chew it over before I decide.
I would like to be able to give feed back on my dental practice but am unable to find a dentist on the island who is taking any one on.
WAIT until they build a thousand homes here EVERY year, try getting a dentist then.
Vote this council out.
My dentist refuses to give any treatment. I’ve a chipped tooth since april .cannot get it fixed .so pretty useless .
I dont currently have a dentist, and despite trying ALL the NHS practices on the Island, still cant get one. Unacceptable.