The Scapa Dental Centre in Kirkwall has been dealt a further blow this week with the departure of one of their dentists to Orkney Health Board.

Major Malcolm Hamilton’s shift to a salaried post will see 2,500 patients de-registered and no longer entitled to NHS treatments at the Scapa clinic.

Principal at the Scapa Dental Centre, Mr Stuart Burgher, said this move underlined the fact that general dental services can no longer be provided by the current system.

“However, it is impossible to understand the health board’s reasoning as this merely shifts the problem and creates more difficulties for our practice. As yet I am not sure what we are going to do and we will have to take some very difficult decisions in the coming weeks.”

Archive story: NHS Orkney field calls as Scapa Dental Centre ditch 500 patients