5. What steps are being taken to improve the availability of NHS dentists across Wales? OQ56917

Thank you, Jane. We continue to re-establish NHS dental services in a safe, phased way. Practices are prioritising care according to need and are treating urgent cases and people who are experiencing problems first. Measures are in place for NHS dental practices to see new patients each week.

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Gweinidog. Dentistry remains one of the most difficult areas of primary care delivery right at the moment—respiratory issues in the pandemic time. Also, on top of that, there have been long-standing issues relating to the provision of NHS dentistry. I've put out a survey and heard back from around 350 people across mid and west Wales concerning the situation with regard to NHS dentistry, particularly in the Llandrindod Wells area. This is a long-running issue, and I'm sure we're looking at a longer term solution to that, but, whilst that's happening, I just wonder if it's worth exploring more innovative solutions whilst the long-term reform is under way. For example, Machynlleth residents have been able to access dental services via a mobile dental suite. Would you agree that a roll-out of similar schemes across rural Wales could potentially offer a short-term solution to this crisis in the provision of NHS dentistry, and, if so, how could we take this forward in an area such as Llandrindod Wells? Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thanks very much, Jane, and thank you for the championing of the cause on dentistry that you're undertaking at the moment. I'm all for innovation, particularly at the time that we're in at the moment. I'm really pleased to see the innovation that's happening in Machynlleth. I guess the issue with mobile suites is not the facilities themselves, but who we get to do the work inside them. So, it's much easier to get a mobile suite developed than it is actually to train the people to staff them, and that's why I'm really pleased that we are working with HEIW to develop the workforce and to make sure that we're being a bit more creative in terms of the way we use the workforce, so it's not just all about dentists—it's got to be about other people working very much at the top of their licence, and encouraging them to work to the top of their licence. I'm really pleased that, for example, in Bangor we've got the all-Wales faculty of dental care professionals, which is really looking at what we can do in terms of dental nurses, dental technicians, dental therapists, dental hygienists, getting them to do perhaps some of the routine work of checking, or whatever, and leaving dentists then to do the more urgent cases.