A dental patient in the north-east has been forced to wait 243 weeks for treatment, new figures have revealed.

Statistics revealed by the Lib Dems found the patient had to wait for outpatient “oral and maxillofacial surgery” in the NHS Grampian area.

The party used Freedom of Information legislation to request details of the longest waits faced by dental patients in each NHS board.

The request also exposed extensive waiting times for inpatients in NHS Grampian, where another patient was forced to wait 126 weeks for dental surgery.

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Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton called on Health Secretary Jeane Freeman to step in. He said: “These new figures have shed light on the staggeringly long waits some patients face for important dental treatment.

“In many cases such lengthy delays are seriously disrupting patients’ lives.

“The Health Secretary needs to take immediate action to get services back on track. For a start, she could publish the integrated workforce plan that staff were told would be out last year.”

An NHS Grampian spokeswoman said: “We have a significant number of people awaiting dental extractions, following a referral from their own dentist. In order to clear the backlog, a contract has been awarded to a local clinic to carry out inspections and further treatment if necessary.

“In the longer term we hope to develop our capacity to perform this work in-house, but we are keen to reduce the number of patients waiting.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “No one should have to wait too long for dental treatment and that is why we have taken decisive action to address the issue. Our waiting times improvement plan will substantially and sustainably improve waiting times.

“We will continue to work with boards to ensure this additional funding delivers the substantial and sustainable improvements needed.”