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Abcess on wisdom tooth

Posted By Audy29

"Abcess on wisdom tooth"

About: Adult Health & Support Services / Public Dental Services NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service)

(as a service user),

I called 111 at the weekend early afternoon to get advice from the Dental service. I spoke with a helpful call taker, who then got a dental nurse to call me back. This was done efficiently and timely, I was then referred for an appointment with my local health board. The person called around 1.5 hours later and gave me an appointment for out of hours dentist for Sunday in the morning. Considering my infection had spread and the pain I was in I had to wait 19 hours to be seen!

I was told the out of hours clinics only run in the mornings at weekends! The only positive was seeing a lovely dentist called and her colleague at Wishaw general who extracted my tooth, and knowing how anxious I was, kept me calm throughout. To have to wait that length of time is certainly not a patient centered service. 

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Responses

Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 3 months ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 16/01/2024 at 19:26
Published on Care Opinion at 19:26

picture of Shona Lawrence

Dear Audy29

Thanks for sharing your experience on Care Opinion. I'm very sorry to learn of your dental abscess which sounds extremely painful. I understand dental pain can be hugely debilitating. I am pleased however to see you received treatment, with the offending tooth now removed. I hope you are doing so much better.

Thanks specifically for your feedback in relation to your contact with NHS 24. I'm glad to see you consider our service was efficient and timely. I do note your comment however concerning the time you required to wait to be seen.

I see your story has been tagged to NHS Lanarkshire who are best placed to respond in relation to out of hours dental clinic availability. The opening times and appointments are determined by them.

Thanks again for contacting Care Opinion.

With kind regards

Shona

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Response from Geraldeen Irving, Clinical Director, South Lanarkshire Health & Social Care Partnership 3 months ago
Geraldeen Irving
Clinical Director,
South Lanarkshire Health & Social Care Partnership

Submitted on 17/01/2024 at 17:01
Published on Care Opinion on 18/01/2024 at 10:24

Dear Audy29,

I would firstly like to thank you for taking the time to share your recent experience of accessing the out-of-hours dental service within NHS Lanarkshire. As a dentist myself, I understand fully how painful an abscess can be and also the anxiety that this can cause for any patient who is experiencing such an event.

I am sorry that you feel you were not seen at the clinic in Wishaw within a suitable timescale and I will hopefully be able to address your concerns. The Public Dental Service of NHS Lanarkshire operates emergency dental services 7 days a week, which take on a few forms. In addition to our weekend clinics, we also operate clinics throughout the week which offer emergency dental care during the day. What we know from providing these clinics is that demand for care is heavily weighted towards the start of the day and the majority of patients are able to be appointed and seen before the weekend clinic end time of 1pm. In addition to this, we follow national guidance on provision of emergency dental care which advises on timescales for seeing patients experiencing dental emergencies. For a patient who has a dental abscess without wider medical complications, that guidance recommends to be seen by a dentist within 24 hours. Therefore, the current clinic operating times allow us to accommodate the demand whilst keeping within (and often well below) national guidance.

It is great to hear that your initial contact was handled in a timely manner and I will pass on your positive comments to the dental team who provided your dental care within the clinic at Wishaw. I wish you a speedy recovery now that you have received the necessary treatment and should you wish to discuss anything further, I would be happy to speak with you via our dental office on 01698 753 673.

Kind Regards

Geraldeen Irving

Clinical Director

Public Dental Service- NHS Lanarkshire

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