NHS Grampian patient waited 212 weeks for dental surgery as 'rotten records' revealed

An NHS Grampian patient was left waiting four years for dental surgery as Scottish Labour called on the government to "brush up its act fast" on waits for treatment.

Figures obtained from health boards by Scottish Labour revealed the length of time patients are waiting for work across the nation's health boards.

Average waits for dental, oral or orthodontic surgery have increased dramatically across most of Scotland between 2019-20 and 2023-24.

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In NHS Grampian, average waits increased by 50% from 15 weeks to 30 weeks, while patients in Lothian faced the longest waits, at an average of almost 53 weeks – up by 320% on four years previously.

Average waits in the Borders health board were 52 weeks, followed by 43 weeks in both Ayrshire and Arran and Dumfries and Galloway, writes the Scottish Daily Express.

Health boards also supplied figures on the longest waits for each of the five years, and by 2023-24, they included one unfortunate patient in Grampian who waited 212 weeks (four years) and another who waited 175 weeks in Lanarkshire.

Paul Sweeney, Scottish Labour’s spokesman on dentistry, said: "Being in pain every time you eat a meal or try to talk is agony for a few days, let alone months or years, but that is the reality for many of those unfortunate enough to be on a waiting list for dental surgery.

"The SNP has presided over a rot in local NHS dentistry over the past 17 years and it needs to brush up its act fast. A Scottish Labour government will end this creeping, two-tier health system and ensure that patients can get the treatment they need."

Waiting in pain

A new payment system for Scottish dentistry was introduced last year, with ministers claiming there were one million NHS appointments in the first three months of 2024. However, the British Dental Association has said further reform is needed in the sector.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The overwhelming majority of people receive dental care in a primary care setting. Latest figures show over one million courses of treatment were delivered to patients in the last quarter - highlighting the success of our payment reforms.

“We are supporting NHS Boards to drive improvements in waiting times and are targeting resources to ensure people waiting the longest are treated as soon as possible. We have significant activity under way to target backlogs locally and through our National Treatment Centres, which will provide additional capacity and will see around 20,000 extra procedures a year, once fully operational.”