OPERATORS struggled to cope as hundreds of callers besieged a phone line set up to take on new NHS dental patients, a health spokesman has admitted.
Some callers to the phone line, which opened at 9.30am on Friday of last week, were greeted with an answerphone, which either asked them to leave a message or told them that no more messages could be taken.
It was set up to help take on about an extra 8,000 district patients after health bosses at Wyre Forest Primary Care Trust appointed four new dentists from Poland to work in the area. More staff have been drafted in to help take the calls, trust spokesman, Paul Lynn, said.
He explained: "It has been very, very busy. We experienced several hundred calls on the first day.
"We are aware that this has caused some difficulties so we have decided to increase the number of staff to take calls and messages and we would like to make sure everyone who leaves a message will be contacted in due course."
Places were still available for the as yet unnamed dental surgeries throughout Wyre Forest, he said.
The PCT had "set up the service as quickly as we could" but Mr Lynn denied it was not equipped for the caller onslaught.
He said: "I am not saying we were not prepared enough. We have done our best in the circumstances so apologies to anyone who has had difficulties getting through."
The phone line 01905 760111 was set up to avoid a scramble for places and a repeat of long queues that have stretched around UK dental practices when dentists join the NHS.
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