The Bradley Stoke Journal

Phoenix Dental Bradley Stoke is offering free oral cancer screenings for all patients as part of their NHS check up.

The action is in support of November’s Mouth Cancer Action Month organised by the British Dental Health Foundation and Denplan.

The practice will also be manning a display stand at the Willow Brook Centre Bradley Stoke on Sunday 22nd November to raise public awareness of the problem.

The campaign, symbolised by a blue ribbon, calls upon dentists, pharmacists and all healthcare professionals to spread the message: “If in doubt get checked out”.

Phoenix Dental’s Wendy Bull told The Journal:

“Every five hours someone dies of mouth cancer in the UK. Statistics from cancer research UK shows that 5,325 new cases were diagnosed in 2006 – that’s more than cervical and testicular cancers combined and an increase of 41% over the last decade.. Yet very few people have even heard of the disease!”

“As oral healthcare professionals we are keen to highlight that if in any doubt at all about white or red patches in the mouth or mouth ulcers that don’t heal, then please see your dentist without delay. Early detection transforms survival chances to more than 90%.”

Free oral cancer screening and routine checks can be booked by calling Phoenix Dental Bradley Stoke on 01179 114 441.

Related link: Dentists in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)

Bradley Stoke’s first-ever dental surgery opened for business today on the first floor of the mall building at the town’s Willow Brook Centre.

The opening marks the end of a long campaign to secure NHS dental provision in Bradley Stoke and follows years of frustration for residents, during which they have had to travel to practices in neighbouring towns.

The history of health care provision in Bradley Stoke is littered with false starts and setbacks. The Town Council proudly announced in September 2005 that a new health centre, incorporating a dental practice, was to be built on a site at Savages Wood Road (opposite the new Tesco filling station). Those plans were later shelved by NHS South Gloucestershire, which decided it would rather spend the money on extending existing GP practices that serve the town (and we’re still waiting for those, four years on!).

Local Lib Dems launched a campaign for a dental surgery in June 2007, claiming that no dentist within 3km of the town was currently accepting NHS patients. They were supported by local MP Steve Webb who said it was extraordinary that a community the size of Bradley Stoke (with more than 20,000 residents) did not have its own dental practice.

The first signs of progress came in October 2007 when South Gloucestershire Council approved Tesco’s plans for the development of a new town centre. The planning agreement included a requirement on Tesco to “actively market one of the upper floor units of the mall … for use as a dental surgery for a minimum period of six months”.

Further confirmation that things were happening came in April 2008 when NHS South Gloucesterhire started the tendering process for “the new Bradley Stoke dental practice”, quoting a target opening date of December 2008.

That timescale proved slightly optimistic as the chosen service provider, Phoenix Dental Limited, was not appointed until January 2009.

Phoenix initially said they would be opening the practice in April 2009, but later confirmed the date had slipped to 18th May 2009.

The practice, which employs two dentists an a hygienist, is open from 8:30am to 6pm Monday – Friday, with later opening on Wednesdays until 7:30pm. Some appointments may also be available on Saturday mornings.

Access to the surgery is via a door to the left of the main car park entrance to the mall, from where stairs and a lift lead to the first floor.

The company’s literature says it is one of the few remaining practices to provide dental care for both adults and children under the NHS.

Appointments may be made by phoning 01179 114441 or via the Bradley Stoke Dental Surgery website.

Patient registrations for Bradley Stoke’s soon to open NHS dental practice have begun with the launch of a new website.

Phoenix Dental Ltd, which already operates practices in Almondsbury, Kingswood and Yate, has announced that Bradley Stoke’s first-ever NHS dentist will open on Monday 18th May.

Patients can now book check-up appointments online at: http://www.phoenixdental.co.uk/bradley_s/

Bookings are also being taken by telephone on 0117 9114441.

The two chair dental surgery will be based in ‘mall office unit #1′ (shown red in the plan below) on the first floor of the Willow Brook Centre.

A spokesperson for Phoenix Dental told The Journal that leaflets advertising the new practice will be distributed in the Willow Brook Centre this coming weekend (18th/19th April).

Related Links: NHS Dentists in Bradley Stoke and the Surrounding Area

The Stokes Medical Centre in Braydon Avenue, Little Stoke, has submitted a second application for its planned extension after the initial plans were rejected by South Gloucestershire Council.

The earlier application, made in January, was withdrawn after planning officials indicated that they were minded to refuse it “on design grounds and non contribution to transport measures”.

A new application was submitted on 26th March and consultation on the revised plans will run until 16th April, with a decision expected by 23rd June.

The number of flats included in the proposed new wing has been reduced from four to two, while the proposed number of cycle parking spaces at the site has been increased from 12 to 26.

A source at the practice told The Journal that it is hoped to have the new wing ready by the end of 2010, after which the expansion and refurbishment of the existing building will commence.

The catchment area of The Stokes Medical Centre includes Little Stoke, Patchway and parts of Bradley Stoke (south-west of Bradley Stoke Way) and Stoke Gifford.

The centre is one of three GP practices that NHS South Gloucestershire has said will be expanded to serve the healthcare needs of Bradley Stoke residents, after plans to create a new health centre near the new town centre in Savages Wood Road were dropped.

The other practices being expanded are Bradley Stoke Surgery (Brook Way) and Stoke Gifford Medical Centre (Ratcliffe Drive).

Work began at Brook Way Surgery a few weeks ago when portable buildings were cleared from the rear of the site, but there has been no further activity since then.

A temporary expansion of Stoke Gifford Medical Centre, consisting of three ‘portacabins’, was approved by planners in February.

A medical practice serving a large part of Bradley Stoke has submitted plans for a major expansion.

The Stokes Medical Centre in Braydon Avenue, Little Stoke, has made a planning application to South Gloucestershire Council that would see the surgery increase its floorspace by 125%.

Also featured in the plans are an opticians’ unit, a dental unit and a “diagnostic centre”.

The expansion will be achieved through extension of the existing surgery and pharmacy building plus the construction of a new two storey block sited at right angles to the existing building.

Residential accommodation is also included in the plans, with four self-contained flats on the first floor of the new block.

The catchment area of The Stokes Medical Centre includes Little Stoke, Patchway and parts of Bradley Stoke (south-west of Bradley Stoke Way) and Stoke Gifford.

The centre is one of three GP practices that NHS South Gloucestershire has said will be expanded to serve the healthcare needs of Bradley Stoke residents, after plans to create a new health centre near the new town centre in Savages Wood Road were dropped.

Bradley Stoke Surgery in Brook Way, Bradley Stoke, had two sets of applications for expansion approved last year, after the government’s Planning Inspectorate overruled South Gloucestershire Council’s view that the proposed plans represented “over-development” of the site.

Dr Simon Bradley of The Stokes Medical Centre said:

“Just 4 minutes drive or a kilometre walk from Bradley Stoke Town Centre, our plans are a much needed opportunity for local families to have access to the purpose built medical and diagnostic centre that was previously intended for the town centre but which was never built.”

More Information:

• Press Release on Expansion Plans at The Stokes Medical Centre

NHS South Gloucestershire has confirmed that two new NHS dentists are expected to be operational in Bradley Stoke from April 2009. The news confirms an exclusive story carried in The Journal last August.

The two chair dental surgery will be based in ‘mall office unit #1′ (shown red in the plan below) on the first floor of the Willow Brook Centre, Bradley Stoke’s new town centre development.

The practice is to be run by Phoenix Dental, who currently operate one other surgery in the area at High Street, Kingwood. The owner of Phoenix Dental is understood to also own practices in Almondsbury and Yate, which operate under different names.

Information released by local South Gloucestershire Cllr Jon Williams, who sits on the Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee, reveals that the contract is worth £320,000 per annum and involves 10,000 units of ‘dental activity’ per year.

Cllr Williams (Liberal Democrat) welcomed the news saying:

“After a long running campaign to get an NHS dentist in Bradley Stoke I am obviously very pleased that the PCT [NHS] have been able to secure the contract for this much needed service. I know that many residents travel miles to obtain a dental service and it will be a relief to them that there will now be one on their doorstep. I understand that the new service will start to advertise their presence from the end of February and residents will be able to access the new service from April. This is a big boost for the town”.

A source at Phoenix Dental confirmed to The Journal that the aim is to have the practice operational by the first week in April. The company hopes to be able to announce the commencement of patient registration in February, when a website (through which registrations can be made) will go live

Once open, the practice will operate five days a week (Mon – Fri), from 9am to 5pm.

Willow Brook Centre manager, Scott Lahive, sounded a note of caution however, when he told The Journal that the NHS has yet to sign the lease for the office unit. This was confirmed by Phoenix Dental, who said they are waiting for the NHS to exchange contracts before they can commence the fitting out of the practice.

The Conservative Group on South Gloucestershire Council also made a statement, celebrating the news and highlighting the “long-running Conservative campaign for a dentist in the town”.

Cllr for Bradley Stoke South, Rob Jones, said:

“This is great news for Bradley Stoke residents. I am delighted that our petition and council motion has been listened to by the local NHS.”

His Bradley Stoke South colleague, John Ashe added:

“There has been a chronic need for dentistry provision in the town for years and so residents will be really pleased that they have now got a date of when they can expect their local dentist to open.”

For anyone needing to see a dentist before April, NHS South Gloucestershire has asked us to point out that many dentists in the South Gloucestershire area are currently accepting new patients and it’s never been easier to find the one nearest to you, just by ringing a new dental hotline.

The new Avon NHS Dental Helpline number is 0845 120 6680 and is available Monday to Friday, from 9am to 6pm. The Helpline number is also the same for patients who may need to see a dentist out of hours in an emergency.

The new telephone enquiry service complements the online dentist and GP search facility available via the NHS Choices website.

Related Links in The Journal:

• Healthcare in Bradley Stoke