Mylor dentist closure imminent due to 'financial and personal issues'
10:24am Tuesday 12th February 2013 in News
By Greg Fountain, Reporter/Photographer
Mylor dentist closure imminent due to 'financial and personal issues'
Financial problems and personal issues led to the closure of a Mylor dentist, it was announced today, leaving thousands of patients without a practice.
Honor Richardson, the contract holder for Mylor Dental Practice on Passage Hill, Mylor Bridge, gave notice of her intention to cease treating patients from February 8.
Three months’ notice is usually provided in such circumstances but a spokesperson for NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly said it was “understood” that the early closure has been forced by personal and financial issues.
The practice was under contract to treat up to 4,000 NHS patients although it was under achieving in the number of appointments it was offering.
Mrs Richardson has written letters to her patients informing them of the closure and asking them to register on the dental waiting list – which already has around 1,000 people on it.
Bridget Sampson, from the NHS Commissioning Board, said they were “very sorry to be losing another dentist in an area where we have many people waiting for places with an NHS dentist.”
She said the Primary Care Trust has ensured “adequate funding” to increase capacity and promised at least one new dental practice in the Falmouth and Helston area.
Anyone who is seeking an NHS dentist now has to leave their details on an answer machine by calling 01726 627990.
If you need emergency dental treatment, contact the emergency helpline on 01872 354375.
