There is something deeply unsettling about a dentist simply vanishing into thin air, yet that is precisely what has happened in Orkney. NHS Orkney has confirmed it does not expect local dentist Nick Deyanov to return after he disappeared following a routine inspection of his Kirkwall practice last November. The health authority has been unable to contact him for over eight weeks.
Police Scotland were called in, not because of any suspected wrongdoing, but for Dr Deyanov’s welfare. According to NHS Orkney’s director of dentistry Steven Johnston, the police have since confirmed that the dentist is “well” and has not come to any harm. He is simply no longer in Orkney, and by all indications, he does not plan to come back.
“We’re in excess of eight weeks with no contact from him,” Johnston told reporters. “Initially, that was a concern, but we’ve had contact with Police Scotland. Based on the limited information the police were able to give us, we’re not expecting that he’s going to return.”
The private dental practice in Kirkwall remains closed. NHS Orkney has managed to gain access to secure both private and NHS patient records. Johnston said the practice had fewer than 50 NHS patients, many of whom had not been seen in several years.
The inspection that preceded Dr Deyanov’s disappearance revealed a number of issues, though Johnston was careful to note none were insurmountable. The practice was staffed by Dr Deyanov himself and a trainee dental nurse who was also his wife. Problems centred around missing paperwork, training records that could not be produced during the inspection, health and safety policies that were not in place, and equipment that needed servicing or evidence of servicing.
“It wasn’t that they didn’t have training; they just couldn’t produce evidence of the training during the inspection,” Johnston explained. A redacted version of the inspection report will eventually be made public.
Johnston noted that Dr Deyanov has “connections with other places around the world where he could be.” It is a strange situation, and one that leaves Orkney patients in limbo. For a community already underserved when it comes to dental provision, losing a practice in this manner is a blow that goes beyond the peculiar circumstances of the departure.