NHS England has launched a procurement process to increase dental provision in King’s Lynn and in other parts of Norfolk and Suffolk. It commissions dental services in England and is required to meet the needs of their local population for both urgent and routine dental care.
Two of the seven lots in the dental procurement exercise are in King’s Lynn with the NHS seeking providers to deliver services at premises accessible to serve the main population densities and located near good public transport links and road networks. The service the NHS wants to commission would be open from 8am to 8pm, 365 days per year.
Both lots are for nearly 22,000 Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) a year. UDAs are a measure of the amount of work done during dental treatment. More complex dental treatments count for more UDAs than simpler ones. For example, an examination is 1 UDA, fillings are 3 UDAs, and dentures are 12 UDAs.
The new services are expected to start on 1st July 2022. The contracts are to run for a period of 4 years and 9 months with extensions of up to a further 3 years. The deadline for submissions is 13th September 2021.
James said, “After a delay caused by Covid, I am pleased that this procurement exercise to increase access to dentists in West Norfolk is now underway. This is a long-running issue and I have consistently raised the need for more capacity so that people can get the dental treatment they need. If you need urgent assistance then call 111 who can help arrange this.”
Anyone who requires urgent dental care and is not registered at a dental practice or needs to see a dentist out of hours, should call NHS 111. Only go to A&E in serious circumstances, such as: severe pain, heavy pain & injuries to the fade, mouth or teeth. Anyone not sure whether they need to go to A&E, contact NHS 111, who will be able to advise.
If after contacting several dental surgeries anyone cannot find a dentist accepting NHS patients, call NHS England's Customer Contact Centre on 0300 311 2233.
