Another urgent dental care centre opens in Gloucestershire but no drop-ins allowed

A third urgent dental care centre has been opened in Gloucestershire in a bid to care for more patients.

This move is to help patients with urgent dental needs while high street dentists are closed due to the current pandemic.

The centre that is reopening is in Quedgeley, and through it people will be able to receive urgent and emergency dental care, such as treatment for severe pain and infection.

This will be in addition to the centres already open in Gloucester and Cheltenham.

To get help, people should phone their own dentist to be assessed. All NHS dental surgeries can be contacted, even while their doors are closed. During the upcoming bank holiday, out of usual surgery hours, people should call NHS111.

Those without a dentist or who cannot get through to their usual surgery should call NHS111 who will direct you to your nearest available dentist.

Patients will be assessed by phone and a dentist will decide whether someone needs to be seen immediately or within 24 hours or can be booked in later for an appointment.

Conditions needing immediate treatment might include: dental infection/fever/swelling, especially if it might affect the airway, uncontrolled bleeding and injury.

In some cases, treatment may be needed in hospital.

Quedgely is not the only centre opening up in the South West, it is being joined by centres in Salisbury, Wiltshire and Barnstable and Okehampton in Devon.

The hope is that the additional urgent dental centres should help reduce journey times for patients in need.

These urgent dental centres are in addition to the exiting centres at the following locations: Bath, Barnstaple, Bodmin, Bridgwater, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cheltenham, Chippenham, Dorchester, Exeter, Gloucester, Isles of Scilly, Newton Abbot, Plymouth, Swindon, Torbay, Truro, Taunton and Weston Super Mare which opened earlier this month.

The Urgent Dental Centres have been set up by NHS England and NHS Improvement – which commissions NHS dental care. The centres are fully staffed and equipped to provide treatment safely during the pandemic.

Thanks a million NHS heroes

Why do we exist:

The NHS is the very best of us. We watch in awe as they work tirelessly to care for us during these unprecedented times. We’ve never relied on them more. We’ve never needed to thank them more and that's what our Help For Heroes initiative is about.

You can show how much you appreciate their efforts by sending them some love, on our Thanks A Million Map https://www.thanksamillionnhs.co.uk/ Simply add your message of support and send a heart to your postcode area. You can zoom around the map to see how many people from communities around Britain are supporting it, and read other messages. If you're a member of NHS staff you'll find a dedicated section of discounts and money-off deals, just for you, too.

But alongside appreciation, the NHS also needs our help - from PPE, to food to keep them going during shifts, medical supplies and more - money can make a big difference. So we have launched NHS Heroes Help From Home - a nationwide drive to raise funds for our NHS frontline, that everyone can get involved in.

How it works:

Donate to NHS Heroes Help From Home from just £2
As a thank you, everyone who donates will be entered into the weekly NHS Heroes Raffle
Winners are announced every Thursday at 8:05pm.
If you’re a winner, choose to keep your prize or gift to an NHS hero of your choice
Find out more at: https://donate.thanksamillionnhs.co.uk/ or click the link on the Thanks a Million map to go direct to the donation site

Where do the funds go:

Funds raised are in aid of the NHS Charities COVID-19 Appeal, set up by NHS Charities Together. Donations will help take care of the immediate well-being of our NHS frontline heroes as well as provide essential longer-term mental health support .

94% of all donations will go to NHS Charities Together’s COVID-19 Appeal. The remaining 6% will cover the cost of payment processing fees.

Director of Primary Care and Public Health for NHS England and NHS Improvement in the South West, Ian Biggs, said: "The urgent dental system for the South West will provide patients with treatment for urgent or emergency dental issues.

"The centres should make a real difference for people and we are pleased to see the centres are already taking referrals and making a difference for patients."

Chair of the Urgent Care Dental Managed Clinical Network, NHS England and NHS Improvement South West and Secondary Care Dental Consultant at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Matthew Jerreat, said: "With more centres coming online, patients in the South West should be able to access an urgent care centre near to them while their regular high street dentist is closed.

"Dentists across the region are working together to do what we can to help patients with urgent dental needs despite the challenges during this global pandemic."