Dental practice and hospital bring double health bonus

The hospital had been shut since November for refurbishment work but the project was put on hold after the main contractor went into administration.

But yesterday North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) announced the refurbishment, which included an upgrade to the sluice and cleaning cupboard, new flooring in clinical areas and redecoration works, is finally complete and the hospital will reopen next Tuesday.

The PCT also unveiled a new dental practice in Knaresborough yesterday, part of the Integrated Dental Holdings Group, which has room for 7,000 patients across the Harrogate area.

The new town centre practice, called Whitecross Dental Care, has been hailed as a major step forward in improving access to North Yorkshire’s much criticised services.

The Mayor of Harrogate, Knaresborough councillor Bill Hoult, said: “This is certainly a big step in the right direction.

“There has been a big problem historically and there has been a shortage of this kind of facility for years in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

“This is a very welcome development.”

The new practice has already accepted 3,421 patients and has a total capacity of 7,000.

Practice manager Angela Wise, at Whitecross Dental Care, said: “We have been taking patients off the local NHS waiting list. However we still have more capacity so I would encourage anyone in the surrounding area to register as soon as possible.”

A lack of NHS dental provision across the region has been a major concern, the Yorkshire Post launching its Stop the Rot campaign five years ago to highlight the inadequacies of dental services throughout Yorkshire.

Nearly £6m has been spent on NHS dental services in North Yorkshire since 2008, and a further £2.3m is due to be invested during the new financial year.

But as 10,000 people are still on waiting lists across York and Selby, it is admitted more still needs to be done.