Dentist to start accepting NHS patients in weeks

WELLINGTON'S newest dental practice will begin accepting NHS patients from the local area from mid-October, health bosses have confirmed.

- DANIEL MUMBY Local Democracy Reporter

The NHS Somerset integrated care board (ICB) has been striving to increase NHS appointments within “dental deserts” that is, areas within the county where relatively few people can access an NHS dentist, forcing them to go private or go without treatment.

Since being elected in July 2024, the Labour government has been seeking to provide more urgent care appointments at a local level, with an additional 13,500 emergency dental appointments being offered across Somerset in 2025.

Health bosses teased details of a new NHS dental practice in Wellington back in February, with its opening being delayed until the autumn after its first-choice premises was discovered to have contained asbestos.

The ICB has now confirmed that Wellington Dental Care, based on the Lowmoor Industrial Estate at the town’s northern edge, will begin allowing patients to book appointments in a matter of weeks, with a formal opening expected before Christmas.