AN MS claims there has been a "furious backlash" after he received a "dismissive" response from minister Lesley Griffiths after raising the issue of Ruthin Dental Practice going private in the Senedd. 

Lesley Griffiths, Business Minister and Minister for North Wales, shut down North Wales MS Llyr Gruffydd in March when he brought up that Ruthin had given up on NHS services; Patients were sent letters from the business [on Market Street] informing them that from June 30, they will no longer be seeing patients under the NHS. 

Mr Gruffydd asked Ms Griffiths for a new statement on dentistry to "prove that the Welsh Government were getting to grips with this issue [the NHS dentistry crisis in Wales]".

He said: "It is a crisis, and, as far as I can see, you are not succeeding in dealing with it?”

Ms Griffiths refused to give the matter any further time. 

She replied: “Well, as you referred to yourself, there was a statement here only last week on dentistry, where the minister for Health and Social Services set out very clearly the work being undertaken. So, I won't be allocating further time.”

Mr Gruffydd is now calling on the minister to “apologise” to local residents for showing a “complete lack of respect” and for her “refusal to treat the matter seriously”. 

Following the exchange in the Senedd, which can be watched here, Mr Gruffydd, who is a patient at Dental Practice, said: "It’s absolutely clear to me that local residents are absolutely furious with the minister for refusing to allocate time to discuss this matter in the Senedd. People have been stopping me in the street to express their anger at the complete lack of respect.

“Residents feel like they’ve been treated with contempt and the minister needs to recognise the impact her refusal to treat the matter seriously has had in the constituency and apologise.

“This is an incredibly important issue that is negatively impacting an increasing number of my constituents, and the very least they deserve is for the Welsh Government to treat it with the seriousness it deserves.

“Her dismissive response simply isn’t good enough and does not fill me with hope that the Welsh Government is getting to grips with what is an emerging crisis in dentistry in Wales.

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“The decision of Ruthin Dental Practice to cease providing NHS treatment to adult patients later this year is just one example of what is happening across the country.

“It is concerning that so many constituents are struggling to access the dentistry services they need through the NHS. What we are seeing is an increasing number of dentistry deserts emerging across the country.

“The Welsh Government needs to take its head out of the sand and demonstrate that it is engaging with the concerns raised by the dentistry profession in order to ensure that NHS services are safeguarded.”