Improved dental service for specialist cases

NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale (NHS HMR) has launched a new dental service that will stop people from having to go to hospital for specialist treatment.

Dentists will now refer patients who need oral surgery to the new Dental Clinical Assessment and Treatment Service, known as Dental CATS, instead of referring patients to hospital.

The Dental CATS Service will be located at The Phoenix Centre in Heywood and The Langley Dental Practice in Middleton, plus a further location in Rochdale by March next year. This will allow patients to receive treatment closer to home and reduce the amount of dental treatment that has to be done in hospital.

The Primary Care Trust hopes that the new service will also help to reduce waiting times, improve the quality of service and keep hospital appointments for those who really need them.

NHS HMR Chair, John Pierce, says this new service is the latest in a number of steps the Trust has taken to improve NHS dental services in the borough, “We recognised that real improvements had to be made to our local NHS dental services in terms of quality and access.

“We have made a huge amount of progress to improving NHS dentistry in the borough thanks to £1.3 million investment over the last couple of years which has allowed us to bring eight new NHS dentists to the area in new modern facilities, creating 19,000 new places for patients.

“The Dental CATS Service will help us to improve the quality of service and patient experience for those who need more specialist dental care, rather than having to go to hospital which can be an ordeal in itself.”

Dr Khalid Anis, Clinical Director, added: “The Dental CATS Service will benefit patients by delivering a more efficient and effective service for specialist treatment. Waiting lists will be reduced, meaning that patients will receive the care they need in a timely manner, reducing the chances of more serious conditions developing in the future.

Anyone aged over 18 can be referred to the new service, as long as they are registered with a GP in the Rochdale Borough. However, patients that have cancer, are suspected of having cancer or any other life threatening condition, will continue to go to hospital for specialist dental treatment because they require additional medical support.

For more information about Dental CATS, visit www.hmr.nhs.uk or call the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 0800 121 4430.