Dentist says change 'will not hurt a bit'
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A NEW dentist overseeing the care of more than 3000 patients who were transferred from the Town and County Clinic at Nairn Hospital has said he is settling into his new role.
Paul Roden is managing a new surgery that provides NHS treatment within the town’s long-established independent Glenridding Dental Practice after a controversial shake-up of dental care.
The father-of-two said he was delighted to be back at the surgery that helped him to strike out on the path to dentistry.
And he said he was working, with support from some of the clinic’s other dentists, through the patient list and seeing people as quickly as possible.
He said: "It’s busy but it’s not intolerable. We knew it would be busy because of the way the health board transferred everybody, it wasn’t staggered. There were only two transfers but the latest transfer was a long list of people who have just had their check-ups at the hospital clinic – so it’s not like we have 3000 patients on day one."
The 37-year-old, from County Down in Northern Ireland, worked in the town’s Lloyds Pharmacy as a community pharmacist before completing a four-year graduate conversion course at The University of Aberdeen to become a dentist.
His first year after training was spent with Glenridding Dental Practice before moving into a permanent role at Kingsmills Dental Practice in Inverness.
His switch back to Nairn comes after the health board shifted the bulk of patients from the NHS-run hospital clinic to the privately-run Glenridding facility.
The move, rolling out elsewhere including at some clinics in Easter Ross and in Inverness, is part of a new drive to transfer patients from dental surgeries run by NHS Highland to privately-run dentists in areas where enough private dentists operate who are willing to deliver NHS treatment to patients.
This frees NHS Highland dentists for patients with additional needs.
Last week Labour MSP Rhoda Grant, backed by others including some patients, expressed concern the shake-up was "privatisation by the back door".
However, NHS Highland and the Scottish Government insist there will be no change in service level, or registration arrangements, for a patient previously seen by the public dental service who is now being treated by a high-street dentist providing NHS services.
Mr Roden said he understood people’s concerns but added: "I was employed to take on the NHS list and all of the patients’ registrations are exactly the same as they have always been."
NHS Highland said: "We look forward to working with Paul in the future to deliver high-quality dental services for patients."
