ACCESS to NHS dentistry services “has never been so difficult”, said Preseli Pembrokeshire MS Paul Davies as he raised the issue in the Senedd.

Mr Davies asked a question to first minister Mark Drakeford following an increase in the number of constituents asking for help in accessing an NHS dentist across Pembrokeshire.

“The first minister was adamant that thousands more appointments have been made available in west Wales, but that’s certainly not what I’m seeing or being told by my constituents,” Mr Davies said.

“Access to NHS dental services has never been so difficult in Pembrokeshire and many people are struggling with the cost of private treatment or having to cope in severe discomfort and pain.

“It’s crucial that everything possible is done to protect the local services we do have and ensure patients can receive the treatment and care that they need.

“We know that recruitment is a problem and the Welsh Government need to work with the Health Board to find a solution so that patients can access these vital services in Pembrokeshire.”

Mr Davies asked the first minister about the evidence behind what he told the UK Parliament's Welsh affairs select committee that there are thousands more appointments in the NHS for dental patients, including in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area.

Mr Drakeford said: “I was wrong to say 10,000 extra patients were being seen in the Hywel Dda area, because the actual figure was 17,305.

“Here are the figures for the Hywel Dda University Health Board (published by the NHS): 10,063 new adult patients were treated last year, and 7,242 new child patients were treated in the Hywel Dda University Health board last year.

“Now, that does not mean, I understand, that there are not significant challenges in that part of the world in providing dentistry.

“There are, and there are plans that we have, extra investment that the minister has made available, new ways in which services can be provided, and, particularly, the impact of the new contract in meaning that dentists will not be spending their time on routine handle-turning work, work that the British Dental Association said they didn't value and didn't need to be done, releasing that time to treat new patients.

“It was effective in Hywel Dda, and, right across Wales next year, there's more to be got out of the new contract in discussions with the profession, and I think we will see even more advantages from it next year, alongside all the other measures that the minister is taking.”