NHS dental access for Swanage

The new practice will bring access to high quality NHS dentistry to over 9,600 people in the Dorset town for the first time in 15 months, and new patients are invited to register. 

Kate Middleton may have been the centre of attention the day before with the naming ceremony of the Royal Princess, but on Friday Mr Cockcroft was guest of honour at the opening of the SCA Trafalgar Swanage practice at 118 Kings Road West, Swanage, BH19 1HS, on Friday June 14^th.  Attendees even joked about christening the practice with a bottle of mouthwash.

Other VIPs attending the event included representatives from the contractors involved with the building refurbishments, MEH Builders, DESS (dental Equipment Sales and Service and Henry Schein, Mr & Mrs Cooper (previous owners of the building) Maria Mills, SCA Group CEO and all of the SCA Trafalgar staff who have been involved with the project.

The new practice is run by not-for-profit social enterprise SCA Group, which runs six other successful NHS Trafalgar dental practices in Hampshire. SCA Trafalgar was awarded a 20-year contract to provide NHS services in Swanage by the former NHS Dorset in January 2013, and has invested in the new practice with support from Big Issue Invest and RBS Bank. Following the closure of a previous practice in Swanage, NHS patients have not been able to obtain comprehensive NHS dentistry in the town for 15 months, and have had to travel to neighbouring towns or use the temporary mobile dental unit located in the town. 

Launching the new practice, Mr Cockcroft said:“I am delighted to see SCA Trafalgar working in an integrated way which reaches all parts of the community and considers a broader approach to meeting the oral health and well-being needs of our communities. SCA Trafalgar is putting the new vision of NHS England into action.”

Local MP for South DorsetRichard Drax, who visited the practice prior to the launch, said he was impressed with the facilities.

“I’m thrilled to welcome this new practice to Swanage,” he said. “I’m extremely impressed by the renovation that has been carried out and the layout of the practice, which is bright, airy and clean and can accommodate wheelchair users with ease. I know that the residents of Swanage will be absolutely delighted with this new facility for NHS dental patients, which was desperately needed.”

Maria Mills, SCA CEO, said: “Being a social enterprise is very important to us at SCA Trafalgar. We put our customers and quality service at the heart of our approach, and all surplus monies are reinvested back into better services and into our communities.”

SCA Trafalgar Swanage is located within five minutes of Swanage town centre. The practice is located in a newly refurbished, former residential house and consists of the equivalent of three full-time dentists offering both NHS and private dentistry, as well as experienced dental nurses and a dental hygienist.

The aim of the practice is to offer high quality, long-term, patient-focused care to the residents of Swanage and surrounding areas and their families. The practice will have a strong community focus, with plans for outreach work in schools and other community support activities. 

All the surgeries in the new practice are fully computerised and supported by state-of-the-art equipment including intra oral cameras, an OPG machine and digital X-ray.  SCA Trafalgar has robust clinical governance procedures and an excellent programme of staff training. Employment opportunities at SCA Trafalgar can be found at www.scagroup.co.uk/jobs