Closure date confirmed at Bupa's Oakley Vale dental practice

A Corby dental care provider has confirmed it will close its doors in June, leaving thousands of patients without a practice.

Last week Bupa announced it was shutting 85 sites across the country, including its Oakley Vale practice in Butland Road.

Now, in an email to patients, they’ve confirmed they are planning to close on June 30 and any appointments scheduled for after that date have been cancelled.

Appointments due to take place before then will still go ahead and Bupa said they would do ‘their very best’ to make sure that anyone who is in the middle of a course of treatment has it completed before the closure.

Lee Barron, who was recently selected to be Labour’s candidate for Corby at the next general election, said access to NHS dentistry is one of the top issues local people raise with him when he is canvassing.

He said it is a crisis, with some Corby residents not able to register at all, and some only getting access to the NHS services many miles away from home.

He said: “News that the dentists on Oakley Vale is closing is going to make the situation even worse.”

Bupa also confirmed that the future of its Wellingborough practice, in Irthlingborough Road, is ‘under review’.

Across the country the move affects about half-a-million patients and could affect 1,200 jobs. The dental care provider has blamed a shortage of dentists for the closures.

Mark Allan, general manager for Bupa Dental Care, said: “As a leading dental provider in the UK, our priority must be to enable patients to receive the care they need.

“For the majority of affected practices, this decision will allow commissioners to procure local providers for the NHS contract, tailoring services and investment to the needs of the local community, thereby providing a better opportunity for patients to continue access to NHS dental services.”

Last year we reported that Northamptonshire was a ‘dental desert’, with figures revealing that fewer than 40 per cent of adults had been seen by a dentist in the last two years. The county was in the top 20 worst affected areas in England.