![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/desperate-patients-in-agony-queue-outside-nhs-dentists-from-4am/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1_THP_CHP_020823Slug_0592JPG.jpg&description=The number of patients currently unable to access an NHS dentist has increased to a staggering 12 million people in England - more than 20 per cent of the country's population Queues of patients with agonising toothache have been reported outside NHS dentists from 4am. The shocking scenes were photographed on social media outside the Avenue Dental Centre in Leigh, Greater Manchester, which offers appointments to all NHS patients on a first-come-first-serve basis. The Mirror recently revealed desperate patients unable to access an NHS dentist have surged to a record 12 million in England. It follows recent reports from Faversham, Kent last month, where a practice received 27,000 calls for just 60 NHS slots, and in Kings Lynn which in May saw queues of more than 300 form from 4am. Mum-of-one Leah Price, 26, tweeted a photo of the queuing patients in Leigh with the comment: "I feel like I'm in a 3rd world country. 20 places to get on with an NHS dentist which have now all gone. I got here at 8am, an hour before opening and people have been here on chairs since 4am." She added: "The people working in the NHS are trying their hardest. But in this country, people should not be camping outside a dentist at 4am on camp chairs just to get on the NHS patient list, it's wrong. "Dental treatment is just as important at the end of the day as other health issues and I'm just in disbelief that this is where we are at. I wasn't expecting to be added to waiting lists that are two years long and to be within a chance of being seen, I need to camp outside. I also have a child that I have to take to school, so waiting outside for hours isn't an option for me, it's a mess." It comes after a BBC investigation found 90 per cent of NHS dentists are not taking on new patients. The British Dental Association blames the "flawed" NHS dental contract and Tory funding cuts over the last decade. One of the problems for patients is NHS dentists are paid the same for doing one filling as they are f){kind=link}
The number of patients currently unable to access an NHS dentist has increased to a staggering 12 million people in England – more than 20 per cent of the country’s population
Queues of patients with agonising toothache have been reported outside NHS dentists from 4am.
The shocking scenes were photographed on social media outside the Avenue Dental Centre in Leigh, Greater Manchester, which offers appointments to all NHS patients on a first-come-first-serve basis. The Mirror recently revealed desperate patients unable to access an NHS dentist have surged to a record 12 million in England.
It follows recent reports from Faversham, Kent last month, where a practice received 27,000 calls for just 60 NHS slots, and in Kings Lynn which in May saw queues of more than 300 form from 4am. Mum-of-one Leah Price, 26, tweeted a photo of the queuing patients in Leigh with the comment: “I feel like I’m in a 3rd world country. 20 places to get on with an NHS dentist which have now all gone. I got here at 8am, an hour before opening and people have been here on chairs since 4am.”
She added: “The people working in the NHS are trying their hardest. But in this country, people should not be camping outside a dentist at 4am on camp chairs just to get on the NHS patient list, it’s wrong.