Dental Patients In Cardiff Struggling To Find An NHS Dentist
Dental patients in Cardiff are struggling to find an NHS dentist according to recent figures.
According to the NHS Direct website only one practice in the Welsh capital is accepting new patients, although a spokesman for the Welsh Government suggested that the information was incorrect and there are in fact seven practices in the area accepting new patients.
The figures were brought to light by the Welsh Liberal Democrats; Eluned Parrott, AM for South Central Wales, said that the situation was “shocking” and accused the Welsh Government of failing dental patients. The government pledged to make sure that every patient had access to an NHS dentist in 2008 and this promise has clearly not been fulfilled.
Parrott added that the latest figures “make a mockery” of Welsh Labour’s promise to enable everyone in Wales to access NHS dentistry.
Representatives from the Welsh Echo contacted a number of dental practices in South Wales, most of which confirmed that they were not taking on new NHS patients at this time.
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said that the situation changes very quickly as vacancies become available and the information on NHS Direct was not always accurate as a result of this.
The spokesman added that the government recognises that more needs to be done to tackle issues with access to NHS dental care, but said that the pledge to ensure a 100% success rate was unrealistic, not least because not everyone wants to access an NHS dentist.
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