Infinityblu Dental Care and Implant Clinic has announced that its practices in Peebles and Duns will begin accepting new NHS patients, both adults and children. This decision comes as a significant relief for many across the UK who have struggled to access NHS dental care.
Chris Barrowman, the owner of Infinityblu, emphasized that the move aligns with the group’s commitment to providing accessible dental care to everyone, whether they are NHS, private, or plan patients.
“We have been considering this for a while,” Barrowman stated. “Our priority was to ensure we had the capacity and flexibility to accommodate this change across the business, and that our dentists and teams were fully supportive of the decision.”
While many Infinityblu practices already offer NHS services to existing patients, this development marks a significant shift. The practices in Peebles and Duns will now open their NHS lists to new patients, a service they haven’t been able to provide for some time.
“For us, it has always been about patient care,” Barrowman continued. “Although we’ve always been committed to providing NHS services where possible, we recognized that long waiting lists and delays were not in the best interest of patients. These delays often result in more severe and costly dental issues. We’ve now ensured that we have the necessary capacity to welcome new patients, confident that they will receive the high standard of care we strive to deliver. We are also contributing to addressing the national shortage of NHS dental provision.”
The scarcity of NHS dental care in the UK has been a pressing issue. A report from the Health and Social Care Committee last year revealed that some individuals were forced to resort to pulling out their own teeth due to the lack of access to affordable NHS dental services.
Unlike general healthcare, NHS dentistry is not entirely free at the point of care, although certain treatments are subsidized.
In November, the Scottish Government introduced a new fee structure for NHS dentists, aiming to streamline payments, reduce bureaucracy, and grant dentists more autonomy over the treatments they offer.
New NHS patients looking to register at the Borders practices are encouraged to contact 01796 475 380 or email [email protected].
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