NHS dentist shortage so bad even children being turned away
AM CONCERNED YOUNGSTERS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES BEING‘SHUT OUT OF DENTAL CARE’
DENTAL practices in Gwynedd are not accepting NHS children and young people with learning difficulties, a report has revealed.
Findings from a report by the British Dental Association (BDA) reveal that of the six dental practices operating in Arfon, not one is accepting NHS adults or NHS children, while three of the six practices are accepting private patients.
Plaid Cymru Assembly Member for Arfon, Sian Gwenllian, has spoken of her shock at the report and says she is “alarmed” to hear that children and young people with learning disabilities are being “shut out from accessing dental care”.
The figures also reveal that across the whole of Wales, only 15% of dental practices can take on new adult patients with only 27% taking on children on the NHS.
This is due to the way the current dental contract caps NHS patient numbers.
Ms Gwenllian has now called on Welsh Government Health Minister Vaughan Gething to “step in as a matter of urgency”.
The AM claims she has been contacted by many constituents concerned at their inability to access NHS dental care in Gwynedd, and she was set to raise the matter during a Business Statement in the Assembly last week.
Ms Gwenllian said: “These are extremely alarming findings and reinforce the concerns being conveyed to me by my local constituents who are finding it impossible to access a dentist on the NHS. “It’s not a satisfactory state of affairs. I am getting letters from local people who are at a loss to know where they can get access to NHS dentistry.
“I am particularly alarmed to hear that children and young people with learning disabilities are being shut out from accessing dental care. “This could have serious and life-long implications on children’s oral health.
“The human cost of this crisis is huge. Welsh Government needs to urgently address this shocking and worsening situation by working with local dental care providers to ensure our area is sufficiently equipped with more NHS dentists.
“We should also be looking at training dentists locally as a longterm solution to the crisis, to be developed on the back of the medical training that is due to commence in Bangor later this year.”
She added: “Local people have already paid for NHS dentistry through their taxes – it is high time that they should be able to get what they have paid for.”
Tom Bysouth, chair of the British Dental Association’s Welsh General Dental Practice Committee, has also blasted the “failed system” and is calling for Mr Gething to help deliver a system that works for patients.
Mr Bysouth said: “The fact that not one practice in Arfon can take on new child NHS patients is a damning indictment of a failed system. For local families NHS dentistry is now just a nice idea rather than a reality they can depend on.
“Dentists are working under a broken contract that’s fuelled a recruitment and retention crisis, and left patients facing epic journeys to access care. Voices across the Welsh Assembly are calling for real change. We need ministers to deliver a system that works for patients.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The Community Dental Service leads on treating vulnerable patients and there is no evidence that patients with disabilities are being denied access to dental services.
“The areas served by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have seen improvement in access to NHS dental services, with around 15,000 more people than 10 years ago regularly receiving NHS care. We want to see further progress toward reaching a position where everyone in Wales who wants access to NHS dental care will be able to get it.”