4. Will the Minister make a statement on orthodontic services in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area? OAQ(5)0094(HWS)[W]

I thank the Member for his question. The health board is working to improve the provision of orthodontic services that meet the clinically assessed dental health needs of their population. This includes developing an outreach service, which means that children needing orthodontic treatment are being assessed closer to home.

Well, they certainly need to improve the service some considerable matter. Can I bring your attention and that of the Chamber to my constituent and the Presiding Officer’s constituent as well, Sheila Joseph, whose 15-year-old son was referred to an orthodontist for consultation for braces? He was told, living in Ceredigion, he would have a three-year waiting list to get braces fitted, whereas in Powys the waiting list is 8 weeks. She decided to spend £3,000 to have private treatment as she couldn’t wait for him to be an adult before he got braces. She now has to travel a round trip every few weeks to Carmarthen simply to have a five minute appointment to have them adjusted, because there is no outreach clinic for orthodontics available in Ceredigion. So, what steps are you taking with the health board, Minister, to ensure that first of all we get an outreach clinic, so that we don’t have the ridiculous three-hour journeys just to get braces adjusted and, secondly, to cut the waiting list in Ceredigion so it’s more commensurate with the waiting lists in other parts of mid Wales?

I recognise there is a challenge, as the health board do as well, around the provision within the health board area, including in the county of Ceredigion. There has been a range of assessment clinics across the health board area including a number of clinics in Aberystwyth and I’ve answered a written question to you recently on this particular topic. So, I recognise that all is not as it should be, that some people do wait too long and it is a real challenge for the health board to confront and manage effectively. I’m actually looking forward to receiving a report on the state of orthodontic services across the country—an update on where we are. That should be provided at the end of January, with a greater explanation of where we currently are and where the need for improvement is. But Hywel Dda understand this will be an element that we’ll return to. They can expect that not just from yourself but families themselves who are waiting longer than they should do for the treatment that you outline and identify. So, there’s no sense of complacency and a recognition of improvement needed.

Cabinet Secretary, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that the importance of good oral health care can’t be understated and this is particularly important in a social care setting where poor oral health care can affect people’s ability to speak, to communicate and even to eat. Hywel Dda university health board’s local oral health plan update recognises this issue, but outlines very little on what progress has been made in this particular area. Therefore, can you tell us how the Welsh Government monitors the effectiveness of Hywel Dda university health board in ensuring that oral care is integrated into general health and social care plans, so that those in social care settings are receiving the best possible services available?

Thank you for the question. I recognise that this is moving on from the specific point about orthodontic services to general oral health care, but this is an issue I’ve discussed with the new chief dental officer in Wales and, indeed, made the point with the British Dental Association as well—that we recognise that oral health care is an important part of the whole person. It’s why we launched an improved scheme for oral health care within residential care settings in the last Assembly. I expect to receive updates on what action is actually taking place, because there is something about recognising the commissioning of care within a residential care setting and about the primary care delivery for that person as well. So, this is something that is in my mind. It is part of the conversation I had with the chief dental officer, and I expect to see further progress made within this term.

Question 5 [OAQ(5)0087(HWS)] has been withdrawn. Question 6, Steffan Lewis.