Just contacted who I thought were my dentist surgery to book an appointment, I was told 'my' dentist no longer worked at that practice so I would only be able to see another dentist there if I was a private patient, when I said that when I joined the practice over a year ago and was as far as I was concerned registered there, the young lady said 'no, you were just referred their because of a particular problem with a tooth' I said yes and after that I asked if I could be an NHS patient at your dentist, I was then told yes I could be, I was never told I was under a particular dentist and that if they left, I would no longer be registered at that dental practice. The young lady then tried a different tact by saying ' I hadn't been there within the last year so they didnt need to keep me registered there, however, in the past they would have reminded you of appointments etc, but guess what, if you are an NHS patient they dont want to remind you, because that way they can leave you unregistered and they can have all the private patients they want and earn more money out of it ! That's privatisation of the dental practice by stealth, sneaky and underhanded and I shall be writing to the general dental council to complain and if I dont get a reasonable reply to the health minister !
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