Queue forms in Bristol from 5am for new NHS dental spaces

People desperate for NHS dental treatment queued from the early hours on Saturday to sign up for new spaces at a surgery. St Pauls Dental Practice in Bristol had announced it would accept NHS patient registrations between the hours of 10:00 BST and 15:00 BST on a first come, first served basis. Holly Davies, first in a queue of about 30, arrived at 05:00 BST, saying: "I can't afford to pay private and so it just became impossible and I got more worried about my own health. It's been a relief to be able to come here and sign on today." Shivani Bhandari, operations director, said the practice was able to see people "who have not seen a dentist in a long time". The dentist surgery was the site of an infamous queue for NHS places in 2024. But this time there were plenty of spaces for those waiting in line – Bhandari said the practice was accepting 1,500 new patients. The high number of free spots didn't stop Bristolians from queuing in the early hours, however. When Davies arrived at 05:00 BST, she said a nearby pub had only just closed with party-goers spilling out onto the streets. She was eventually joined by others who, like her, had faced long waiting times for dental treatment –