Powys councillors back moves to set up dentist training school at Aberystwyth University
A proposal which could see dentists being trained at Aberystwyth University has been backed by Powys councillors, in the hope it will improve dental services across the whole of Mid Wales
At a Powys County Council meeting on Thursday, December 4, a motion was put forward by Plaid Cymru group leader Councillor Elwyn Vaughan calling for the council to support the “joint initiative” being conducted by Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities to train dentists in the future.
Cllr Vaughan (Glantwymyn) said: “We just haven’t got enough dentists in Mid Wales and this is a practical way of answering the problem.”
He explained that both Bangor and now Aberystwyth Universities had expressed an interest with the Welsh Government in trying to establish a dental training school and believed it would cost around £2 million a year to run.
Cllr Vaughan: “I’m sure we would welcome this, because when there is a medical or dentistry school, a high percentage of those students stay in quite a close proximity of these universities.
“If that would happen in Aberystwyth, it could be an advantage to us all in Mid Wales and we should put our shoulder behind this campaign and encourage the Welsh Government to take action.”
Councillor Joy Jones (Powys Independents – Newtown East) said: “I’m very happy to second this proposal.
“We’ve been struggling for a very long time. NHS dentists have become very scarce and has led to a lot of people not receiving the care they should be.
“Those struggling are having to go over the border to try and find treatment and many are left in dreadful pain for a long time.
“It’s well known there are people now with very poor teeth because they are not able to see an NHS dentist.
“By setting up a training school, hopefully some will stay and fill the gap.”
The problem, according to Cllr Jones, is that it’s difficult to entice dentists to come and work in Mid Wales and she told the council that people were “fixing” their own teeth which causes even more health problems.
Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe (Liberal Democrat – Hay) said: “It is a postcode lottery. It’s critical we support people and get dental care.”
Council chairman, Cllr William Powell (Liberal Democrat – Talgarth) added that this was another example of the need to adopt the “grow our own” approach.
Council than went to a vote which saw 58 councillors vote to support the motion and one vote against it.
In November it was revealed that Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities are collaborating to develop a training model and are working with Cardiff University to deliver an all-Wales approach on dentistry.
A joint proposal from the universities has been submitted to the Welsh Government and is the first step in a process to present a comprehensive business case for the Welsh Government to consider.
