"Good care for painful toothache at Tameside & Glossop PCT"

During the weekend I lost a filling so had to take painkillers for the toothache. First thing on monday morning I went to what I thought was my dentist only to find out that I had been taken off her list because I had not been for more than 4 years (indicative, I think, of the good dental work carried out in the past) and could not be seen. I was given an emergency number which was answered by Ann. As Ann was telling me, the computerised system had gone down that morning. Although I was worried, Ann was calm, pleasant and informative (unlike an automated telephone system which would have frustrated and upset me) and she asked me many relevant questions and informed me that I would get to see a dentist before the end of the day. To my surprise, within an hour I was rung back and given an appointment for 12:30 at the group practice of my old dentist. I rang back later to get further information on how to get a new dentist and other stuff. Again, I found the experience a welcome change - to be able to speak to a person and not a machine put my faith back in the NHS.