Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:49 pm on 22 March 2022.

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Photo of Andrew RT Davies Andrew RT Davies Conservative 1:49, 22 March 2022

Clearly, the chair of the dental profession in the Dyfed Powys health board area really does feel that there is a potential for the collapse of services, hence why he has written on behalf of his members to the health Minister on this particular issue. We cannot forget how difficult it has been to access NHS dentistry before the pandemic. The British Dental Association said last year that access to services for new patients in Wales had more than halved since 2012, dropping to 15 per cent for practices accepting adult patients, and 27 per cent for children accessing dental services. We know that there's the new contract coming through. We know that there are concerns from the British Dental Association and representatives on the ground. We realise that there's a constraint on supply. What exactly can we look forward to over the next 12 months to make sure that those constraints are lifted and that people can access dental services? I've heard it from your backbenchers time and time again, when they've been questioning Ministers, that it's a problem from their own areas. This isn't just the Conservatives standing and saying this. This is across Wales, and action needs to be taken.