Manx Care would like to inform patients of the current position with Hillside Dental Practice.
Manx Care took responsibility for Hillside Dental Practice (Douglas) on 1 December 2023. Recent recruitment to fill vacant positions has so far been successful, with further interviews taking place this week, and the team due to be complete within the coming weeks.
Part of the preparations for Manx Care to take over Hillside included the implementation of a new IT system to manage patient bookings, dental treatment records and so on, which was scheduled to take place in the days leading up to 1 December 2023. The software that was previously in place was specific to the private provider, and so a new solution is required going forward.
Unfortunately, despite colleagues working towards the implementation day of 1 December 2023, Manx Care was notified the week prior to this that the new software provider had experienced a serious cyber-attack, which to date has still not been resolved. This means that if Manx Care were to allow the company access to its data, it could pose a serious threat to the security of sensitive patient information within our organisation. As a result, the Primary Care team is now looking for an alternative solution and hopes to have a temporary measure in place within the next week, whilst procurement of new software is underway. Hillside Dental Practice will then be able to make contact with patients to recall them for examinations and continuing care.
As a result, Hillside Dental Practice is currently only able to deliver emergency dental services to patients, and these emergency services are based at the Community Dental Service at the Central Community Health Centre, Westmoreland Road, Douglas.
If you require urgent and emergency care and are assigned to Hillside Dental Practice, please contact the practice directly on 642389 and an appointment will be made for you.
Manx Care and the team at Hillside apologise that they have been unable to start operating services as quickly as hoped, and trust that patients will understand the importance of protecting their data.
Practice staff have sadly been subject to abuse from some individuals who are unhappy that they have not yet received a check-up appointment. Whilst we do understand frustrations, given the significant reduction in provision by Hillside due to longstanding staffing issues, Manx Care’s priority is to make sure we can deliver the best, most efficient and safe services to our patients. We therefore ask that those contacting the practice show colleagues patience and courtesy, whilst the team get service up and running.
