A British multi-millionaire has announced plans to introduce a series of drive-in dental clinics in a bid to help solve the UK’s dental problems.
Judith Wilson, who with her husband Fergus is one of Britain’s largest private housing landlords, aims to eventually open a dental clinic every 100 miles throughout the nation so that no patient has to travel more than 50 miles to get treatment.
‘It makes more sense for a Polish dentist to come to England than scores of English people to travel daily to eastern Europe for the same treatment,’ she told the Kent on Sunday newspaper.
‘It is easier on the pocket and easier on the environment if one dentist travels one way rather than many dental patients two ways.’
The former maths teacher revealed she saw a business opportunity when she read reports of ‘dental tourism’ – the process of British residents flying out on trips to Eastern Europe to receive cheaper dental treatment than at home.
She said: ‘The NHS cannot cope and, without attaching blame to anyone, we have a fire brigade situation which the country needs to resolve. I will be writing to Gordon Brown and David Cameron to seek their cooperation so that we can work together on this project.’
She said there would be 500 treatment rooms nationwide with ‘probably 1,800 East European dentists employed to work in them’.
The first drive-in dental treatment centre is planned for Maidstone.
