Scottish group announces places for Scottish NHS patients

Dental group to take on 12,000 Scottish NHS patients

Amid ongoing news of fewer spots for new National Health Service patients in Scotland, one dental group has announced 12,000 new openings. (Image: mundissima/Shutterstock)

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 31 July 2024

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GLASGOW, Scotland: As announced in the June issue of BDJ Team, Scottish dental group Clyde Munro will be taking on new National Health Service (NHS) patients registered to five health boards: Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Ayrshire and Arran, Lanarkshire, Highland and Lothian. This announcement comes on the heels of British Dental Association (BDA) findings that a strong majority of Scottish dentists are backing out of NHS dental care to some degree.

Though attempts were made in 2023 to encourage dentists in Scotland to continue serving in the NHS by providing increased funding, assessments by the BDA have found that more than 80% of these clinicians have already stopped accepting patients or are planning to drop their number of NHS-enrolled patients.

Jim Hall, founder and CEO of Clyde Munro, said: “As a leading dental group, we recognise our responsibility to support dental patients across the country, given the ongoing crisis facing NHS dentistry. Behind the scenes, we’ve been working tirelessly to prepare for this moment, ensuring that we’re fully equipped to welcome new NHS patients.”

Hall continued: “Our focus on recruitment underlines our steadfast commitment to ensuring patients receive the highest standard of care and aims to bridge the gap in accessibility to NHS services in rural and deprived areas.” He explained: “Our success in securing talent has only been made possible by our investment in skills development and training and our dedication to digital dentistry and world-leading technologies, all of which ensure dentists in Scotland are less likely to look to other countries or private practices.”