Mark Formosa took the extreme measures after failing to find an NHS appointment anywhere near his home in Newquay, Cornwall, despite being on the waiting list for years
A man drove more than 1,000 miles from Cornwall to Scotland and back – to get a dentist appointment.
Mark Formosa, 48, took the extreme measures after failing to find an NHS appointment anywhere near his home in Newquay. He managed to secure his nearest appointment in Glasgow – 500 miles away – and has now completed the round-trip to carry out a basic check up.
He said: “In Cornwall – or everywhere else in England – you can not get an NHS dentist for love or money. But in Glasgow you can walk straight into an NHS dentist to get treatment.
“Years and years I have been trying – and haven’t been able to see a dentist for more than ten years. I’ve been on the waiting list for the whole of Cornwall and they are said to notify you if a space becomes available. This happens very rarely and there are thousands on the waiting list – so I had no chance.”
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Mark, a taxi driver, left his home at 11am the day before and spent ten hours driving the 500 miles to make the morning appointment on 26 March at the Renfrew Dental Studio.
He attended just for a routine check up, but said would be returning to the Scottish practice any time he needed follow up treatment. He added: “The first dentist I phoned that was closest to the airport immediately agreed to take me on.
“They have different laws and funding for dentists in Scotland. Dentists are not able to run down list of NHS patients and just kick people off a list. The only way is if they leave or die – and if they leave it’s to go to another premises first. I stayed overnight to make sure I made the appointment in the morning and then came back afterwards.
“It is ridiculous lengths to go to but shows it can be done and the government can provide this. It is the same general pot for NHS taxation – so why can we not do it here in England.
“An example of how bad it got was when one in Coventry opened its book and saw literally hundreds of people queuing out the door to get an appointment. I’ll have to keep going to Scotland for my dental treatment and check ups – unless they impliment the same reforms in England.”
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Mark said he last saw an NHS Dentist in 2010. He added: “There are 28 000 people on the NHS Dentist waiting list in Cornwall and I am one of them. Realistically you have no chance.
“I have even spoken to people who have resorted to pulling their own teeth out, sad as it is. I left Newquay at 11am and the drive took me ten hours, but even with the inconvenience and the cost of accommodation it’s a drop in the ocean.
“People pay thousands for dental treatment where I come from. They have no choice. The dentist and staff at the Renfrew Dental studio in Paisley were very professional and very thorough. It is within walking distance of the airport here so people in Newquay can fly from Newquay airport to Glasgow and walk into the nearest NHS Dentist and get treatment. If they can do it north of the border then why can’t they do it in England.”
Responding to the extreme lengths Mr Formosa went to for an NHS dentist appointment, an NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS is determined to improve access to dental care, and that’s why we are working to incentivise dentists to work in underserved areas and improve access.
“However, more needs to be done, which is why we’re working with the Government to reform the dental contract and shape the upcoming 10-year plan to improve our services for patients.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “NHS dentistry is broken after years of neglect, forcing patients to resort to desperate measures.
“We’re already rolling out 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments and preventing tooth decay in young children through supervised toothbrushing. But there is more to be done, and we will also reform the dental contract to increase provision through our Plan for Change.”
