Carmarthen AM Alarmed Over NHS Dental Acess
Mid and West Wales AM, William Powell, has spoken out after it was revealed that there are no dental practices in Carmarthen accepting new NHS patients.
Mr Powell, a member of the Liberal Democrat party, has criticised the Welsh Government and claimed that it is letting people down after information on the NHS Direct website confirmed that there were few dental practices in Wales taking on new patients.
The Welsh Labour party had pledged to ensure that everyone had access to an NHS dentist, but Mr Powell said this is simply not the case and many people are struggling to find a dentist in their local area.
In response to such comments and criticism in the media about access to NHS dental services, a spokesman for the Welsh Government said that it was “unrealistic” to set a target of 100% access because some people prefer to see a private dentist rather than an NHS dentist.
It was unbelievable, Mr Powell added, that out of 15 or more dental surgeries in Carmarthen and Llanelli, none were offering NHS dental places to NHS dental patients.
Concerns have also been raised in other towns and cities, as figures for the whole of Wales were alarming, however, the government has stated that the information on the NHS Direct website is not updated automatically and therefore figures may not be completely accurate.
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