INCREASED DEMAND FOR EMERGENCY DENTAL SERVICES

 

The Health and Social Care Portfolio would like to advise the public that they are currently experiencing a significant increase of demand on dental services, particularly during the emergency dental slots each morning. Due to the high demand for emergency dental services we can only see a limited amount of patients during the 1 ½ hour emergency timeframe.

The portfolio would like to remind the public that these slots are specifically for emergencies which include:

 

Trauma, post-extraction bleeding, facial swelling

 

Dental infection and dental or facial pain not controlled by regular medication (Paracetamol /Ibuprofen) within 48 hours.

 

Routine concerns, such as lost fillings, without pain should be booked as a regular appointment.

If you are experiencing facial swelling, or are in severe pain outside of normal dental hours please attend the Emergency Department.

 

The public are also reminded about the impact that missed appointments cause on our service. In February alone over 10% of all dental appointments were missed. This causes considerable disruptions for other patients waiting to be seen. Cancelling in advance means we can offer that appointment to someone who may be waiting.

 

The Portfolio also wishes to remind the public that it operates a #zerotolerance programme for aggression against any of our staff. Whilst we understand that it may be frustrating waiting for any treatment, we will not tolerate any acts of aggression or violence against any staff. The Portfolio works closely with Royal St Helena Police Service to ensure that all such incidents are reported and treated seriously.

 

Minister Henry commented

 

“We are all well aware of the limited recourses we have, especially within Health and Social Care and as a community we all need to do our bit to ensure we maximise their benefits.  Having such a high missed appointments rate in the face of also having a long waiting list is indeed counterproductive for us all. It is our individual responsibility to make a simple call to cancel an appointment, without doing so you directly contributing to the waiting time of others. Additionally, staff work tirelessly to support our community, and should not face any abuse from the patients they are trying to help”

 

SHG
07 March 2025