A total of 2,286 dental complaints were made to integrated care boards across England in the last tax year
Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board has received the second highest amount of dental care complaints in the most recent tax year, new data has revealed.
In the 2024/25 tax year, Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB received a total of 203 formal complaints about their dental care, according to data received through a Freedom of Information request.
Of the complaints, ‘access and waiting’ was cited as the most common complaint, with 134 logged, followed by ‘safe, high quality co-ordinated care’, which recieved 50 complaints.
Under the category ‘building closer relationships’ the ICB received 11 complaints. The data also showed that six people wanted ‘better information and more choice’, and two issues were logged in the ‘other’ category.
Closely following the NHS Greater Manchester ICB, who had a total of 221 complaints, the two are leading the table that makes up the 2,286 complaints made to 42 ICBs, as compiled by medical negligence solicitors Patient Claim Line.
After these, Mid and South Essex ICB made the list with 131 complaints, with the top reasons being access to treatment and drugs (43 complaints), followed by patient care (36 complaints).
Commenting on the findings, Katie Parr, Associate Solicitor and Team Leader of Patient Claim Line’s Clinical Negligence team, said: “If you have experienced dental negligence, such as misdiagnosis, delayed treatment or inadequate care, you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation.”
“In order to establish that dental negligence has occurred, it’s crucial to provide evidence that you have suffered unnecessarily, or that your condition worsened, because of a lack of care. This includes medical records, dental records, photographs of injuries, and a detailed statement about what you experienced.”
A spokesperson for the trust said: “Lancashire and South Cumbria faces similar challenges to those seen all over the country around NHS dental access and waiting times.
“The ICB has a dedicated work programme to help us make improvements to dental access and implement measures aimed at supporting the population to maintain good oral health.
“We understand the difficulties people face in accessing dental care, and if anyone requires urgent care, they can phone 0300 1234 010 (charged at local rate). This service can provide advice, support and an appointment where required.”
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