A dental practice offering NHS care in Ripon is set to close in three months’ time.
Bupa’s practice on Finkle Street will shut its doors on June 30, with the national company citing a lack of dentists to provide care.
The Finkle Street branch has provided NHS and private dental care. The Bupa Clock Tower practice in North Parade is unaffected, as are Harrogate’s Raglan Suite and Bupa Dental Care in East Parade – but none of these is accepting new adult NHS patients.
Finkle Street is one of 85 across the country to be closed, sold or merged over the coming months. As well as problems with recruiting, Bupa said rising costs influenced its decision.
Bupa Dental Care general manager Mark Allen said:
“As a leading dental provider in the UK, our priority must be to enable patients to receive the care they need.
“For the majority of affected practices, this decision will allow commissioners to procure local providers for the NHS contract, tailoring services and investment to the needs of the local community, thereby providing a better opportunity for patients to continue access to NHS dental services.”
Bupa said it will hand back its dental contract in Ripon to the NHS, allowing commissioners to find a new provider for NHS dental services.
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However, the issue of NHS provision has already raised concerns in the Harrogate district.
It was raised in the House of Commons last month when Daisy Cooper, MP for for St Albans, said only half of children in North Yorkshire had seen an NHS dentist last year.
Last month, the chairman of North Yorkshire County Council’s health scrutiny committee, Cllr Andrew Lee, said he had raised the issue of NHS dental access in the county with the government.
The NHS website does not list any practices in the Harrogate district as accepting new adult patients for NHS treatment. Only two – Bupa’s Clock Tower in Ripon and Boroughbridge Dental Centre – are shown as taking new patients aged under 18 on the NHS.
Previously known as Oasis Dental Care, the Finkle Street practice had five surgeries and employed six dentists, a hygienist, seven dental nurses, a practice manager and two receptionists when the Care Quality Commission last inspected in 2016.
Bupa has not confirmed how many jobs will be lost as a result of the closure, but said it would redeploy staff “where possible”.
Mr Allen added:
Man, 23, suffers serious facial injuries in Ripon“We fully understand the impact today’s decision has on our patients and our people within these practices. This decision has not been taken lightly and closure is a last resort.
“Despite our continued efforts, the dental industry is facing a number of significant and systemic challenges that are placing additional pressure on providing patient care, in particular recruiting dentists to deliver NHS dental care.
“This decision enables us to focus our efforts on high-quality, continued sustainable care for patients across our wider portfolio.”
A 22-year-old man has been arrested following a disturbance on Ripon’s Finkle Street.
Police were called to the incident at 2.40am in the early hours of Saturday.
The victim, a 23-year-old man was found with serious facial injuries and taken to hospital for treatment.
The 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent, he has been released on conditional bail to allow for further enquiries to be carried out.
Crime scene investigators were summoned and a scene guard was put in place to allow officers to retrieve any evidence from the scene of the incident.
Crime scene investigators at the site on Saturday.
North Yorkshire Police is urging anyone who witnessed the incident but has not yet spoken to police to get in touch on 101. The incident number is 12220200870.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.