Health watchdog appeals for experiences of dental treatment for Banbury area patients during the Covid emergency

Healthwatch wants to hear from anyone who has tried to get a dental appointment during lockdown for regular or emergency treatment.

The county’s independent health and social care watchdog particularly wants to know how easy it was to get an appointment, and what this experience was like for those who did manage to get one.

People can share their experiences by completing a short, anonymous online survey which can be found here. The survey findings will be fed back to the NHS Dental Commissioner for the South East and the Oxfordshire Local Dental Committee.

Rosalind Pearce, the Executive Director of Healthwatch Oxfordshire, said: “We have heard from many people that accessing NHS dentists has been difficult, for both routine and emergency treatment, during the initial lockdown earlier this year and since then.

“We have already raised these concerns with the commissioner of NHS dental services for Oxfordshire, but we would like to know more about this issue.

“I would urge anyone who has tried to get dental care over the last few months to let us know about their experiences so we can give service commissioners a detailed picture of what we have heard and what needs to change.”

Anyone who would like to talk this through over the phone, or who would like a paper copy or a translated version of the survey to be posted out, can call 01865 520520.

To find out more about Healthwatch Oxfordshire see the organisation's website here.