A motion has been put forward for the next meeting of Powys County Council to back proposals to establish a mid-Wales dentistry school.
The motion put forward by Plaid Cymru group leader Cllr Elwyn Vaughan and independent Cllr Joy Jones, calls on the Council to back “the joint initiative, led by Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities”.
This would “involve establishing dental education centres across the two regions, managed by both universities and calls on Welsh Government to support this initiative”.
In the motion it notes that Llais, the citizen voice body for health and social care, released a position statement on the Welsh dentistry crisis after hearing from over 12,000 people across Wales about their health and social care issues – with dentistry consistently coming out near the top.
According to Llais, “over a third of people they spoke to about getting to see dentistry services were not registered with a dentist or were on a waiting list.
“People are travelling further to access NHS dental care with many forced to pay more by turning to private dental care.
“People feel the quality of care available on the NHS is worse than private dental care.”
“The current situation is inequitable with those losing out being children, older people, pregnant people, disabled people, those with additional learning needs and those on a lower income.”
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The motion calls for the backing of the council when it meets next Thursday (December 4), adding: “The significant shortage of NHS dental services in Mid Wales, and that there is a strong case for the establishment of a School of Dentistry in the area as a practical solution to the challenges.
“A significant number of students wishing to study dentistry are forced to leave Wales due to a lack of capacity in schools of dentistry.
“A new school of dentistry in Aberystwyth could play a key role in training more dentists locally, offering a better chance of retaining the dental workforce in the region and providing essential services locally.”
