Queuing up to register (From Penarth Times)

Queuing up to register

HUNDREDS of people queued for a quarter of a mile last Saturday - like people queuing for bread in communist Poland according to a local councillor - to register at a Dinas Powys dental surgery which has gone private.

The Castle Court Dental Practice has decided to opt out of the NHS to provide treatment privately before new NHS contracts come into place on April 1.

All patients at the surgery were sent letters last week saying that registration would be handled on a "first come, first served basis" and that demand was likely to be high.

Queues started forming at 7.30am as worried patients turned up en masse to make sure they were not left without dental care.

Practice Principal Tim Mills said: "I would like to offer my apologies to everyone who had to wait in the cold on Saturday. We have received numerous letters of complaint. We sincerely regret what happened and understand that some people are very upset.

"We never imagined that so many people would turn up all on the same day and as a result we were completely unprepared for what happened. We took the decision to leave the NHS very late in the day because we were looking at ways of carrying it on."

"In the end we decided we couldn't because the cost implications for an independent surgery like ours were too great.

"This is a situation that is reflected across the country."

Dinas Powys Cllr Chris Franks said: "The scenes we witnessed at the weekend were unbelievable.

"It was like footage of people queuing for bread in communist Poland.

"Both dental practices in Dinas Powys have now gone private. The UK government has fouled up the new contract and are forcing dentists out of the NHS system.

"It's disgraceful," added Cllr Franks.

"We are paying all this extra tax yet instead of getting services in return we are forced to take out health insurance schemes.

"One family of four I spoke to said it would cost them 500 a year to register before paying for treatment."

Castle Court Dental Practice says it is attempting to keep NHS dental care available for children under the age of 18 who are currently registered.

The private dental plans at the surgery are priced at 7.95, 10.95 and 13.95 per month.