Patient watchdog raises concerns over poor dental access in Wales
Twm Owen – Local Democracy Reporter
Concerns over access to NHS dental treatment in Wales have been raised days after it was suggested as a model for improvement in England.
Patient watchdog Llais highlighted access in its report to a meeting of the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board that is responsible for NHS services in Gwent.
A joint plan from the Welsh and UK governments published this week outlined patients from Wales could be treated in England to bring down NHS hospital waiting lists and the Labour administrations also said Welsh NHS dentistry will be used as an example for how to run the service in England.
That is despite the British Dental Association (BDA) having previously said the service could disappear in Wales as it didn’t believe the Welsh Government’s target for new patient appointments is achievable.
A Senedd committee, in February 2023, also said it had concerns too many people in Wales are unable to access an NHS dentist.
Young people
At the Aneurin Bevan board’s Wednesday, September 25 meeting members were told access to NHS dentistry is a concern for young people patient group Llais has been working with.
Lisa Charles, the regional director for Llais, referenced the recent coverage of plans to adopt the Welsh Government’s approach to dentistry when highlighting concerns over access.
She told board members: “Dentistry has been a topical subject and many young people shared their views. One said ‘I haven’t seen a dentist since I was 16 and I’m 24 now. I can’t register with an NHS dentist and I can’t afford to pay privately’.”
Health board chief executive Nicola Prygodzicz said she would ensure Llais has information about access to dental treatment so it can provide it to people as they raise complaints.
Llais has made it a priority, as part of its annual plan, to work with and listen to more groups and bodies that represent young people to understand what they want from the health service.
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We had a letter from our NHS dentist a few weeks ago giving us the option of joining a monthly subscription scheme to cover 2 visits a year plus some treatments or become ‘Pay as you go’ patients at private rates. They are withdrawing from the NHS service which they have provided to all the patients they took over from the previous practice at that surgery which was NHS only. Many of the patients had been registered there for about 50 years!
The government has a duty to provide NHS dentists. If they can’t do it a deduction should be made in the national insurance contributions of people who are forced to go private because those people are paying twice for treatment.
I was surprised to read that NHS dentistry still exists in Cymru. When we moved back to Aberystwyth there was zero chance of getting onto the list of the only NHS dentist in town. My sister in law who was on the list has now been dropped off it as the practice has moved over to Profitised Dentistry. My experience of profitised dentistry has been that the treatment has been good but there has been pressure to do more procedures that had not been done under the NHS regime. Given that the young dentist suggesting those things has been very… Read more »