West Street Dental Practice, Fishguard, to cease NHS dental care

Hywel Dda University Health Board (UHB) says it is working closely with West Street Dental Practice to ensure that patients who had previously received care there will "receive the necessary information about their ongoing care and the options available."

A Hywel Dda spokesperson confirmed that the Health Board will now undertake the process to identify a new Service provider for the area. 

The Practice will continue to provide all urgent care which patients require until 31 March 2023 and says it will ensure completion of any treatment, including orthodontic extractions.

Jill Paterson, Director of Primary Care, Community and Long-Term Care for Hywel Dda UHB said: “We are grateful for the support that patients have given to the Practice over the years and we appreciate the concerns patients may have at this time of uncertainty.

“We are working to find a solution which secures NHS Dental services for the longer term.”

Patients with any queries regarding their appointment should contact the Practice.

Last week, the Welsh government said that it expects an estimated 112,000 new NHS patient appointments will be possible this financial year.

Eluned Morgan, Welsh government minister for health and social services, said: “We want everyone in Wales to be able to access NHS dental care, if they want it.

"From this year, we’re providing an additional £2 million a year to support increasing access to dental services throughout Wales.

“I’m really pleased that we’ve already broken the 100,000 extra appointments barrier this year, which shows that our reforms, made in partnership with the industry, are resulting in clear positive outcomes for patients.”

In response, however, Russell Gidney, chair of the British Dental Association’s Welsh General Dental Practice Committee, said: "The Welsh government is cooking the books on patient numbers.

"Ministers haven’t created 100,000 extra appointments but simply moved the goalposts.

"The fact is, for every new patient seen, a dozen historic patients could lose access to dentistry. This is all that’s possible when we fail to meaningfully invest in frontline services."

West Street Dental Practice, Fishguard. (Image: Google)

Following the end of the NHS contract, patients who are experiencing dental pain should contact 111 to access an urgent access appointment which is available seven days a week.

For information on how you can access NHS dental care at another Practice, patients are advised to visit Hywel Dda UHB’s website or contact the Dental Services Team on 0300 303 8322 (option 4) or HBHB.Dental.hdd@wales.nhs.uk.