Bristolโ Residents line โUp before Dawn for NHS dental โAppointments
huge โqueues formed outside Lodge โฃCauseway Dental โคin โBristol thisโ morningโข as the practice โขbegan โoffering new NHS โappointments. people beganโค lining up before 6:00 AM, hoping to secure a place as an NHS patient,โค according to a report by Bristol Post. The scenes highlight the โคongoing crisis in access to NHS dentistry across the country.
The desperate demand for โNHS dental care โcomes amid deep, structural issues with the system and โขexacerbated by the recent departureโ of dentists following the COVID-19โข pandemic. The government directlyโ referencedโข similar scenes outside โSt Pauls Dentalโข in 2024 when โannouncing in February that 700,000 new urgent appointments would โbeโค made available nationwide,โ a move prompted by growing public concern.The underlying problems โขwithin NHS dentistry areโฃ complex and date back decades, stemming from โคtheโค introduction of dental charges in 1951 and continuing through successive labor and Conservative โคgovernments.