Siân Gwenllian MS Working for the people of Arfon

Siân Gwenllian MS has welcomed the announcement of a dental training centre for North Wales, but asks what the Welsh Government will do in the meantime to tackle ‘a very real crisis.’ 

Siân Gwenllian, the Member of the Senedd for the Arfon constituency has welcomed the announcement that there will be a training centre for dentistry opening in north Wales. However, the MS has expressed concerns, saying that; 

“Such a centre is two or three years away, and in the meantime, there is a very real crisis developing in my constituency.” 

In her address to Mark Drakeford, Wales’ First Minister, the MS claimed that; 

“Part of the problem arises from the way in which the contracts work between dentists and the health board, and there has been a pledge for some time that this Government would look in detail at what needs to be done in order to improve that situation.  

Can you make progress with that work now please?  

At the moment, people in my constituency are being let down.  

There is another dental surgery to close next year, and we truly require urgent action in this area.” 

In his reply the First Minister blamed Brexit, saying that 

“Brexit has had a negative impact on dental services.  

Seventeen per cent of dentists employed by the major companies—and the major companies are the ones that are withdrawing from areas such as the north-west—are recruited from the European Union, and Brexit undermines that.” 

Nevertheless, the FM remarked that a new dentistry unit in north Wales would assist the situation. 

Siân Gwenllian MS added; 

“The Welsh Government needs a long-term plan to address these challenges.”