DENTAL services are at risk of catastrophic collapse, with people resorting to “DIY dentistry” and pulling their own teeth with pliers, the Senedd heard.

Peter Fox warned that NHS dental services are seeing rapid decline following the Welsh Government’s introduction of a new contract in 2022.

He told the Senedd: “These contracts don’t work for dentists, nor do they work for patients,” as he highlighted a 60% fall in the number of NHS dental posts compared with 2021.

Echoing concerns raised by the British Dental Association, the Conservative MS said dental services face potential catastrophic collapse due to the contract reforms.

Mr Fox, who represents Monmouth, cautioned that patients are being left with a choice between years’-long waiting lists or paying hundreds of pounds for private care.

He said: “This lack of accessibility has led people to drastic action – from harrowing stories of people pulling out their own teeth with pliers or people being forced to take 200-mile round trips to get dental appointments. Clearly, this is just simply unacceptable in the 21st century.”

Leading a debate about primary care on April 24, Mr Fox warned GPs are also struggling due to a lack of contract funding, which is not uplifted in line with rising costs and pay uplifts.

He told MSs some GPs are having to pay staff and utility bills out of their own pockets, with practices forced to withdraw more and more services.

The Conservative said some constituents face 50-mile round trips and 50-week waits for services in hospitals that were previously carried out routinely and timely in GP practices.

Mr Fox, who led Monmouthshire council for more than a decade before being elected to the Senedd in 2021, urged the Welsh Government to urgently review GP and dental contracts.

Eluned Morgan told the chamber the majority of contacts with the NHS are in primary care – with up to one-and-a-half million contacts a month in a population of three million people.

Wales’ health secretary recognised the extreme pressure on practices, saying the contract last year provided a 5% uplift not just to GPs but also staff who work in their surgeries.

She said: “We want to reform the dental contract on a preventative basis, responding to risk and need, and we have introduced up to 300,000 appointments to new dental patients.”

Baroness Morgan, who is married to a GP, stressed the importance of other professionals in the community, such as pharmacists and opticians, to the preventative agenda.

She said most pharmacies in Wales provide a free service for 27 common ailments, helping to reduce pressure on GPs and other parts of the healthcare system.

During first minister’s questions on April 23, Sian Gwenllian said many of her constituents are unable to access public dental services – “an entirely unacceptable situation”.

The Plaid Cymru MS for Arfon raised concerns a new dental academy in Bangor closed its books to NHS patients despite promises it would help tackle a lack of public services.

Sam Rowlands, the Conservatives’ new shadow health secretary, said far too many people across north Wales do not have access to an NHS dentist.

He raised comments from Russell Gidney, chair of the Welsh general dental practice committee, warning of a rise in “DIY dentistry” due to a lack of proper access.

Vaughan Gething said the Welsh Government is committed to reforming the dental contract to unlock capacity and access to NHS services is one of the health secretary’s top priorities.

A RETROSPECTIVE call for a mobile asphalt batching plant to stay, described as “probably one of the most important applications” a Pembrokeshire town has received, has been given the go-ahead.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, meeting on April 23, was recommended to approve the application by Mr Harries for the retention of the 13.6m-high mobile plant at 10 Waterloo Industrial Estate, Pembroke Dock, despite it going against the local development plan.

Pembroke Dock Town Council had objected to the plans, citing a lack of information presented with the application, a lack of detail in respect of potential flooding and contamination, no traffic management plan, and no details of a recently erected steel building.

The application – partly in a flood zone – was before the committee as it is contrary to development plan policy but is recommended for approval, with conditions including works ceasing pending remediation if any contamination is found, and associated safety and environmental conditions.

A report for members said: “Whilst a conflict is identified with [policy], the development is a mobile asphalt batching unit, and whilst the intention is that this is for long term use it would be possible for the plant to be temporarily relocated should there be an impending flood event (tidal flooding is predictable).

“Even if the plant was to remain in the same position within the site, the majority of the plant is raised above ground level by approximately 1m and therefore any consequences of flooding would be minimal.

“On this basis it is considered that this is a material consideration of sufficient weight to outweigh any identified conflict.”

Moving approval, Pembroke Dock councillor Brian Hall said: “This is probably one of the most important applications we’ve had in Pembroke Dock, and possibly Pembrokeshire.”

He said the scheme would “complete the industrial site,” getting rid of “a nasty piece of land”.

He finished by saying: “It’s going to be a massive asset to the council, its much closer for them for picking up tarmac.”

He was supported by fellow Pembroke Dock councillor Tony Wilcox, who pointed out that any flooding issues would also hit the nearby Aldi supermarket.

Members unanimously backed the application, with Cllr Hall showing his enthusiasm with a “definitely for” vote.

A FUNDING gap of tens of millions is thwarting efforts to restore opencast mines – and public authorities in Wales must clamp down on corporate greed, a committee heard.

The Senedd’s climate change committee began taking evidence for an inquiry on restoration of opencast mines amid concerns about Ffos y Fran in Merthyr Tydfil.

Carl Banton, operations director at the Coal Authority, said the public body tries to broker the best restoration possible but the primary problem is a lack of funding.

He told the committee that £50m is available for restoration work at Ffos y Fran, which closed in November, but it will cost anywhere from £75m to £125m – “a big, big gap in funding”.

Mr Banton said East Pit and Margam regeneration plans suffered from a similar shortfall.

“One of the big issues now is the amount of water that is in those voids,” he said, warning that pumping the water out is a “huge undertaking” potentially costing tens of millions itself.

Mr Banton explained that councils are the primary authority for regulation of surface mines through planning and the Coal Authority has a role in terms of licensing mining operations.

Raising 2016 best practice guidance on restoring surface coal mines, Mr Banton said: “The idea of this was to try to prevent the situation we are currently in.”

Mr Banton warned that the amounts held by councils in escrow in case a company goes into insolvency are  “nowhere near sufficient” for restoration plans.

The operations director said the Coal Authority offered guidance to Merthyr Tydfil council around escrow in 2016 “but they chose not to go down that route”.

Mark Drakeford suggested the UK Government’s remit for the Coal Authority – to maximise the extraction of coal – is in stark conflict with Wales’ policy of minimising use of fossil fuels.

Mr Banton told the former First Minister a planned review of the remit has not taken place.

On Ffos y Fran, he said the Coal Authority wrote to the Welsh Government in October to raise the risks in terms of public safety and the need to act sooner rather than later.

Mr Drakeford raised concerns about an inspection which found the company was mining beyond the Ffos y Fran site boundary without planning permission.

Mr Banton said the Coal Authority reinspected in August, finding the company was still mining outside the permitted area, and began enforcement action in September.

Delyth Jewell, for Plaid Cymru, raised concerns about Merthyr Tydfil council’s suggestion that the void filled with contaminated water could form part of a restored site.

Mr Banton said a hydrogeological assessment will be required to ensure the water is safe.

Daniel Therkelsen, from the Coal Action Network, attributed a lack of restoration in Wales to legislative weakness and corporate greed.

The campaigner said Celtic Energy’s sites have been left in a dire state, with a judge finding the actions of the company were reprehensible but not illegal.

Mr Therkelsen said the Fros y Fran site operator, Merthyr (South Wales) Limited, has paid out nearly £50m in dividends and shares since 2016.

Marcus Bailie, an Extinction Rebellion Cymru activist, similarly raised alarm about private profit coming at the expense of public and planetary good.

Pointing to East Pit and Margam as examples of poorly restored sites, Mr Therkelsen said people nearby continue to call for restoration to “some sort of semblance of what it was”.

Friends of the Earth Cymru director Haf Elgar said campaigners have been raising concerns about Ffos y Fran for years as she urged the council and Welsh Government to intervene.

She said: “It’s been quite difficult to get information out of the local authority – whether that’s about ensuring local communities are consulted or basic planning documents.”

Mr Therkelsen said responses have been protracted, accusing the council of “blocking” public scrutiny on one hand while holding weekly meetings with the operator on the other.

He warned that the 14 to 16 months of illegal mining at Ffos y Fran saw around 600,000 tonnes of coal extracted, leading to an estimated 428 climate-related deaths.

He said: “Nothing happens to them – there are no consequences. Not one penny of the company’s profits have been touched despite mining illegally for over a year.”

David Kilner, campaign coordinator at Climate Cymru, said restoration plans for Fros-y-fran will likely be deeply insufficient considering the funding shortfall.

Ms Elgar raised concerns about the risk of plans for Bedwas tip “opening the door” to another industry of extracting coal in exchange for a promise of restoration.

Llyr Gruffydd, who chairs the committee, criticised Merthyr Tydfil council which refused to give in-person evidence on April 24, submitting two pages of written evidence instead.

Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd has been invited to give evidence to the committee on May 9.