Dental provision in Bridlington is set to nearly double under new plans aimed at improving access to NHS treatment in the town.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council has submitted a planning application to convert offices at the Crown Community Centre on Quay Road into a “Live Well Campus” that would include a major dental surgery. The proposed practice could deliver up to 1,700 appointments a week, including around 840 for NHS patients.
If approved, the scheme would allow mydentist to relocate from its existing Quay Road premises to the larger site. The new facility would have capacity for 17 surgeries across the ground and first floors, a move planners say would “transform dental care in Bridlington”.
At present, mydentist is the only practice in the seaside town offering NHS dentistry after two other surgeries closed at the end of 2022. However, it is not currently accepting new NHS patients.
In addition, the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board has published details of two new five-year dental contracts for the Bridlington area. Each contract is worth more than £3m and is expected to be awarded in March.
One contract is set to go to Whitecross Dental Care, part of the mydentist group, and the other to Genix Healthcare, which operates six clinics across Yorkshire. The contracts are due to be confirmed on 3 March and are expected to almost double the town’s current NHS dental capacity.
Residents say the expansion is urgently needed.
David Cox, 48, who uses a wheelchair, said he must travel to Hull or Beverley for emergency dental care. “Travelling is very expensive, especially with transport costs,” he said. “Being a disabled wheelchair user and having to pay £100 just for a check-up is too much these days.”
Micheal Greenwood, 67, said he travels about 13 miles (21km) to Driffield for treatment because it is “impossible” to secure an appointment locally. “Bridlington’s a poor town. People can’t afford private care — they rely on the NHS,” he said.
Caron Urch said she previously paid £200 for a private extraction and hopes the new provision will reduce such costs. She added that her eight-year-old grandson has been unable to secure an NHS appointment.
“I think it’s about time it happened,” she said. “There’s just nothing around here for NHS dentists.”