Sir, I was very interested to read the front page article in last week's Observer, because as a pensioner I suffered identical problems on October 11 - as the lady who you were writing about. Having a nagging toothache over the weekend, come Monday morning I rang my dental practice for an emergency appointment, only to be told by the receptionist they could not make any more appointments until February 2005. But this is an emergency, I explained. I am sorry, but that is our situation at the moment. What do I do then? You will have to look in the telephone directory to see if you can find an emergency dentist. After being registered with the practice for nearly 14 years and attended for regular appointments, I did not expect that sort of reply. After ringing a couple of dentists in the area without any satisfaction, I too rang NHS Direct Wales. The lady I spoke to was very sympathetic and said she would get a nurse to ring me back. This she did after a shortwhile, giving me the names of four dentists in the area who may be able to help. The first one I rang agreed to see me the following day, October 12. He x-rayed my mouth and told me I had an abscess, so prescribed antibiotics, but said he would not be able to give me further treatment as I was already a registered patient with a dentist, and he himself spoke to my dentist's receptionist and told her I needed to be treated after finishing the antibiotics. Back to NHS Direct to update them, they told me I must go back to my dentist and tell them that I should be treated, but they were still adamant that they could only see me if they had a cancellation. In the meantime, my dentist telephoned NHS Direct to inform them that he was not obliged to treat me, as I was not in a 'plan.' Some years previously, I was in Denplan with the practice. Then that was changed to another plan, which I again belonged to, and then that was scrapped and a 'pay as you go' type of insurance was introduced. My last visit to the practice for treatment was July 7, 04. I have at last secured an appointment outside the area, after being prescribed more antibiotics. Hopefully I can tolerate the pain and sore mouth until I receive the required treatment. I agree wholeheartedly with comments the lady made to your paper. I could add more, but will leave it at that, as time is precious. What a disgusting state of affairs.
Iris White (Mrs.),
Lady Park, Tenby.