A fourth dentist could soon be recruited to help a clinic tasked with reducing the island’s ever-growing NHS waiting list.
The Hillside Clinic in Douglas, which is operated by Manx Care, provides emergency appointments for those who do not have a dentist and is now set to take on more NHS patients on the waiting list.
At the House of Keys this week, Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse asked acting Minister for Health and Social Care Alf Cannan what urgent dental care is available to unregistered patients, what plans there are for the Hillside Clinic and what the direction of the dental service is.
One general dental practice based in Douglas provides emergency appointments as well as Hillside.
The dental service on the island is in crisis with around 5,800 people on the waiting list for an NHS dentist. Just five years ago the list was at zero.
Not only have more people been added to the list but the rate of allocation has slowed to just 520 patients last year. There is now a 53-week wait to be allocated an NHS dentist.
Mr Cannan said that, since becoming function February 2024, the Hillside clinic has ensured over 50% of patients have been able to receive a dental examination or treatment and a clear plan is in place to work through the remaining backlog of patients.
He told members: ‘Planning is underway to start taking new patients from the dental waiting list with infrastructure changes to provide a fourth dentist which will hopefully be completed in three-six months.
‘Recruitment is underway for a fourth dentist to support the practice and, subject to the recruitment and completion of works, the current dental waiting list will, in its entirety, will be allocated to Hillside.
He also said a dentistry needs assessment for the future dentistry needs of the island’s population will be undertaken.
He added: ‘Recruiting a fourth dentists will make an impact in terms of the waiting list. Two previous attempts to recruit a dentist proved unsuccessful but I understand progress has been made and a new one will be recruited in three to six months.
He said it will take some considerable time to make inroads into the waiting list.
Mr Cannan explained that the Community Dental Service operating out of the central community health centre on Westmoreland Road in Douglas has historically operated as an emergency dental care service for patients who do not have access to a dentist.
This is an on-the-day contact service which operates from 8.30am-4.30pm Monday-Thursday and 8.30am-4pm on Friday.
There is a rota service run by general dental practices on weekends and bank holidays. There are 10-12 emergency appointments available per day.