DENTISTS provided hundreds fewer free treatments to patients in Herefordshire in the first half of this financial year, new figures reveal.

The British Dental Association says the system for claiming is a “nightmare by design”, and has led to thousands of fines and a huge drop in attendance – which will be made worse by the coronavirus outbreak.

Adult patients in Herefordshire received 7,361 courses of treatment exempt from charges in the first six months of 2019-20, a new NHS Digital biannual report shows.

This was 566 fewer than during the same period a year earlier – a 7% drop in treatments free of charge, available to certain groups including full-time students and the elderly.

Charlotte Waite, of the British Dental Association, said: “The system by which many often vulnerable patients claim is a nightmare by design, where mistakes come with a £100 penalty charge.

“It’s left hundreds of thousands of innocent people facing fines and encouraged millions more to miss out on care.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: "Nationally, we are monitoring access to dentistry closely and are working with NHS England to look at what further action can be taken.”