85 dental practices set to close – full list of national closures
The British Dental Association said the service is approaching the “end of the road” following Bupa Dental Care’s decision, that is set to affect more than 1,000 members of staff. The closures come after the patients at the affected practices were unable to access the NHS dental service they need.
The healthcare service has announced that the NHS contract model, increased operating costs and the difficulty in recruiting staff to some practices has contributed to the decision.
The move is set to affect a total of 1,200 employed and self-employed staff, which represents more than a tenth of the 9,000-strong workforce.
The closure of the 85 practices is set to bring the total number of Bupa dental clinics in the UK down to 365.
Bupa, which provides NHS and private dental care, said some practices have been earmarked to be merged with other clinics.
Here is the full list of practices that will close, or are under review to be sold or merged with other practices:
Practices earmarked for closure:
Bupa Dental Care Pontefract
Bupa Dental Care Rochdale
Bupa Dental Care York
Bupa Dental Care Bolsover
Bupa Dental Care Shildon
Bupa Dental Care Sunderland
Bupa Dental Care Harleston
Bupa Dental Care Gloucester
Bupa Dental Care Ripon
Bupa Dental Care Cleveleys
Bupa Dental Care Skegness
Bupa Dental Care Oakley Vale
Bupa Dental Care Waterlooville
Bupa Dental Care Barrow in Furness
Bupa Dental Care Bishop Auckland – Market Place
Bupa Dental Care Brandon
Bupa Dental Care Eye
Bupa Dental Care Stockton
Bupa Dental Care Sturry
Bupa Dental Care Bristol – St Pauls
Bupa Dental Care Wolverhampton
Bupa Dental Care Poole
Bupa Dental Care Folkestone
Bupa Dental Care Tewkesbury
Connaught Village Dentistry
Bupa Dental Care Leckhampton
Bupa Dental Care Thames Ditton
Manchester Cheadle Dental and Implant Clinic
White Dental Southampton
Bupa Dental Care Holborn
Bupa Dental Care Manchester Square
Total Orthodontics Wokingham
Total Orthodontics Marlow
Total Orthodontics Camberley
Bupa Dental Care Blackpool Station Road
Bupa Dental Care Leslie
Total Orthodontics Downpatrick
Bupa Dental Care Omagh Campsie Road
Practices under review:
Bupa Dental Care Addlestone
Bupa Dental Care Ashton-in-Makerfield
Bupa Dental Care Boston
Bupa Dental Care Brampton
Bupa Dental Care Burton on Trent
Bupa Dental Care Cove Bay
Bupa Dental Care Crewkerne
Bupa Dental Care Denbigh
Bupa Dental Care Egremont
Bupa Dental Care Erdington
Bupa Dental Care Evington
Bupa Dental Care Hereford
Bupa Dental Care Hucknall
Bupa Dental Care Kendal
Bupa Dental Care Keswick
Bupa Dental Care Kingseat
Bupa Dental Care Liskeard
Bupa Dental Care Lydney
Bupa Dental Care Marden
Bupa Dental Care Maryport
Bupa Dental Care Netherfield
Bupa Dental Care Newport Shropshire
Bupa Dental Care North Lakeland
Bupa Dental Care North Walsham
Bupa Dental Care Penge
Bupa Dental Care Penrhyn
Bupa Dental Care Plymouth
Bupa Dental Care Preston
Bupa Dental Care Redditch
Bupa Dental Care Rhyl
Bupa Dental Care Rise Park
Bupa Dental Care Rustington
Bupa Dental Care Ryde
Bupa Dental Care Seaford
Bupa Dental Care Sleaford
Bupa Dental Care Stroud
Bupa Dental Care Sutton-in-Ashfield
Bupa Dental Care Wellingborough
Bupa Dental Care Woolston
Bupa Dental Care Worcester City
Metamorphosis Orthodontics
Total Orthodontics Colwyn Bay
Total Orthodontics Wigan
Mark Allan, general manager for Bupa Dental Care, said: “As a leading dental provider in the UK, our priority must be to enable patients to receive the care they need.
“For the majority of affected practices, this decision will allow commissioners to produce local providers for the NHS contract, tailoring services and investment for the needs of the local community, thereby providing a better opportunity for patients to continue access to NHS dental services.
“We fully understand the impact today’s decision has on our patients and on people within these practices.
“This decision has not been taken lightly and closure is a last resort.”
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The British Dental Association has warned the move could mark the “end of the road” for dentistry services if the Government fails to devise an adequate plan to reform and fund NHS dentistry.
It comes as an increasing number of reports describe patients attempting to perform dental procedures on themselves due to lengthy waiting lists.
The reports include attempts to reform root canals and melting down ‘polybeads’ to use as false teeth.
A YouGov data released earlier this month showed that the majority of unregistered patients are unable to access or afford treatment.
Bupa said it has not been able to recruit enough dentists to deliver care for many months, with certain practices affected by the shortages for years.
The health service said it would be handing back the dental contract to the NHS for dental practices that are set to close.
This will allow commissioners to find a new provider to continue treating patients in the area, it explained.
Clinics will remain open for the meantime as Bupa starts redeploying affected staff to different areas of the service.
The industry has also been hit by inflation and increasing energy prices, which has driven up costs of patient services.
Mr Allan added: ”Despite our continued efforts, the dental industry is facing a number of significant and systemic challenges that are placing additional pressure on providing patient care, in particular recruiting dentists to deliver NHS dental care.”
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