TWO new dental practices are set to open in Herefordshire soon, it has been revealed.

Minutes from a recent meeting of the Hereford and Worcester Integrated Care Board have revealed that two contracts have been secured to open new dental practices in the county.

The minutes noted that there is a need to ensure that these contracts are implemented, and that work is undertaken to make sure that the project is carried out appropriately. They added that in order to reduce health inequality, it is critical that vulnerable groups can easily access dental services.

Whilst no opening date has yet been announced for the new practices, the overall capacity of dental services in the county is set to increase from April onwards, implying that they may be opening their doors in the spring.

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The new offerings will help combat the ongoing dental shortage in the county, with none of Herefordshire’s dentists accepting new patients and few able to take on referred NHS patients as of January 2024.

Dentists have been experiencing difficulty in Herefordshire for a number of years, with a British Dental Association spokesperson stating that they had long faced chronic problems with burnout, recruitment and retention, particularly in rural areas.

At a meeting on January 17, Integrated Care Board chief executive Simon Trickett said: “We have got those two new dental contracts in Herefordshire, there is a bit of a local planning issue around change of use and planning restrictions for both of the new locations.

“We’re really keen to get those practices open, just getting the premises sorted is the final hurdle.”