NOT a single dentist was convinced to relocate to Herefordshire by a scheme set up to attract new dentists to the area.

And despite additional funding, no Herefordshire dental practices were willing to join a scheme to provide weekend cover, Herefordshire Council's Health and Wellbeing board were told ahead of a meeting today (March 28).

Herefordshire already had some of the worst dental access rates in the region prior to the pandemic, and a 2021 scheme offering salaried dental placements in local practices with training in the wider health system failed to bring a single newly qualified dentist to the area.

A report from NHS England and NHS Improvement said the long-standing issues attracting dentists to work in the area have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

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"There are historically a number of small largely private dental practices in Herefordshire who have traditionally held small NHS contracts that were originally child only," the report said.

"There are also a few larger corporate practices. All of these practices struggle to attract and retain staff and previously had relied in some cases on staff from the EU. Brexit has had an impact on the numbers of dentists in particular willing to work in the area."

There are currently 18 general dental practices offering a range of routine dental services in Herefordshire.

Two practices, one in Ross-on-Wye, and one in Bromyard, have recently given notice to terminate small contracts in April.

The report also said NHS England and NHS Improvement had received anecdotal reports of practices offering to take on children only if the parents will sign up to private dental services.

Plans are being worked on for a large practice or practices in Hereford to replace activity lost in recent years, the report said, with the team working with Healthwatch to develop a patient consultation exercise to inform this work.