To appeal being thrown off the dentist nhs register

[Redgreenred10]

Been with my dentist 30 years. This afternoon I had an appointment and this morning I tested positive for covid. Now I know you don’t have to test anymore but my best friends daughter has complex disabilities and covid could be fatal so my best friend has provided her family and friends with covid test and just asks if we can a quick test before we come round. I was due to go round after the dentist.

now the dentist is still really anal re covid and a few days before sent me a questionnaire asking if I had any symptoms and if I did my appointment would have to be cancelled.

So after testing positive i rang the dentist 6 times and could not get through so I left a message explaining.

I have just received a message saying due to missing my appointment I am now removed from the NHS register. Basically for following their own guidelines. I have tried to ring again (can’t get through) so I have sent an email.

trying to get through to the dentist is a nightmare. You are are kept on hold for 1
minute and then you are passed through to the message service. I rang 6 times before leaving a message so I really tried to get in touch

Think your dentist has found this thread, OP.

What a ridiculous thing to say.

Absolutely!

I know people who lost their NHS registrations with dentists after not being seen through the Covid period without warning. Really, really awful treatment of people.

Neither. I’m not a troll. I was suspicious that the OP wasn’t telling the full story. It seemed unlikely that both the suspected stroke and the Covid coincided with dentist appointments and that she hadn’t missed other appointments or been a difficult patient before. Just saying 😀

i hate it when places don’t have any system for cancelling appointments other than phoning up and speaking directly to somebody. My old GP surgery was like this and I couldn’t get through on the morning of my appointment to cancel (lines were always engaged 90% of the time anyway) so I got a ‘did not attend’ mark on my record. New GP fortunately has an option when phoning to cancel without speaking to somebody.

Are you always this suspicious? You must have had a very straightforward life if this makes you suspicious. It’s entirely plausible and just normal life for many people.

I understand completely why you're in this situation. Dentists are quick to chuck you off and don't really care about the reason.

With mine, you get once chance, but you're thrown off for less than 24 hours notice the second time.

I have chronic ill health and the first time I woke up feeling so unwell with runny nose etc. I was due for a filling and I explained there was absolutely no way the dentist would appreciate poking around inside my mouth while I was snotty and sneezing. They didn't care, I was told one more chance. Thankfully on that day I was well enough to go.

One short notice cancellation and you're out is incredibly shit.

Definitely appeal it.

About £20 a month but that doesn’t inc treatment and fillings, root canals could be hundreds, I’d definitely try and get back on. I’ve been kicked out of my nhs dentists 18 months ago for them not having enough staff 🤷‍♀️. But apparently they can see me if I pay privately. Which i didn’t bother with. Then randomly I got an email last week saying they haven’t seen me in ages and to make an appointment so I rang up and made one (an nhs one) 😁👍

Dentists can remove whoever they like. Go private, less hassle. 👍

???🙄

We followed our lovely then NHS dentist to our current private surgery when she left after our old one was bought by a company that she later said was pushing her to do unnecessary treatments, especially on children. I was surprised that the private costs were not as high as I had assumed - I know that it’s different if even a small increase would be hard, or if people qualify for totally free treatment on the NHS, but I’m surprised by friends who I know have very much more than adequate incomes who continue to go to their NHS dentist and complain about the difficulty of getting appointments or getting the treatment they need under the NHS.

It didn’t use to be the case that NHS dentists are hard to find and no longer provide the standard of service that they did ( no receptionists ?! )and it shouldn’t be but it is now.

We have an oversupply of private dentists around here and they all publish their scale of fees on their websites so it’s easy to see if it is an affordable option after all.

No it doesn't work out as that much more to be honest, especially as NHS make you pay for hygienist.

Exactly, she didn't have symptoms so why leave testing until the morning of her appointment?

@Pickandmixmood I don't know why you don't just call OP a liar. Keyboard warrior. You're pathetic.

I’ve honestly got no idea what you are talking about. The only reason she tested was due to her friends child - nothing to do with the dentist. The dentist didn’t require her to test at all.

Some private treatment isn't as expensive as I thought it would be, my dentist closed and there's little chance of being accepted as an NHS patient anywhere around here, I have two teeth that have crumbled in the last couple of months and an infection and including the antibiotics it's been roughly double what the NHS fees would have been for the same work done.

It's been a struggle to pay it all and I've cut back other things to pay for it which is a bit miserable (Christmas, heating etc) but it was that or be in constant pain and obviously without treatment the infection will keep coming back, and that puts other aspects of your health at risk.

It's pretty much a no win situation really, if you need treatment and you cannot find or use an NHS dentist then you either pay or suffer.

How people who need treatment and don't have the means to cut back in other areas manage, I don't know, I guess the poor buggers just suffer. Would have been me a few years ago, I struggled enough to pay for the NHS fees, private would have been beyond my means.

I'm sorry but I actually lol'd at this. 😂I'd love an "I hate dentist" hat!

I would definitely appeal. They sound ridiculous. Good luck!

Labour have increased NI so staff pay without increasing NHS income. I wouldn’t expect NHS for much longer anyway! All the NHS dentists I know are planning their escape.

FWIW, turn up at reception tomorrow with a box of chocolates, apologise profusely and offer to pay for time wasted in person and my guess is they will give you another appointment. Fully NHS they aren’t allowed to charge for missed appointments so it’s 2 strikes and you’re out.
It will be up to the dentist, we are human and if you are nice to us we’ll be nice back!

My friend got kicked off one for missing 2 appointments. I can't remember the circumstances of one but for the other she was in hospital having a miscarriage. Anyway she has changed dentists

I left our nhs dental practice due to the abysmal admin and hostile reception staff. Absolutely adore Denplan; it’s more than paid for itself over the years as my teeth are quite decrepit and all treatment including root canals and implants (except lab fees) is covered (and routine 2 x dentists appts and 3x hygienist visits a year).

To be honest if I didn't have any symptoms regardless of the positive Covid test I'd still have gone that's just how life is now

Dentists are hands-down the absolute worst bit of the NHS.

Maybe she should have postponed her stroke and arranged it for another day.

I believe they want to knock people off the nhs list so they have no option to go private and pay for treatment.

Same, I pay 20 something pounds per month