Lerwick Dental Practice to deregister NHS patients
NHS Shetland has confirmed Lerwick Dental Practice will deregister NHS patients.
The health board said it had become aware of Lerwick Dental Practice's decision to deregister some of its NHS patients.
"As independent dental practices operate as private businesses, they have the freedom to make decisions about service delivery, including whether they treat patients under NHS regulations and on registering or de-registering NHS patients, which may not involve prior consultation. Unfortunately, NHS Boards are unable to control these decisions," the health board said in a statement.
NHS Shetland Public Dental Service (PDS) is currently working at almost 50 per cent less capacity than the pre-covid workforce levels, but over 70 per cent of the Shetland population registered with the service.
As a result, the PDS is only able to provide an emergency/non-routine service for the patients de-registered by Lerwick Dental Practice.