A letter in last week's Observer expressing a local resident's concern over the lack of NHS dental health care facilities in the area, has drawn a response from the Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust. In a statement issued in reply to the letter from Mr. B. G. Hunt, of Narberth Road, Tenby, NHS Trust communications manager Joan Stephens wrote: "Pembrokeshire NHS Trust is committed to providing community dentistry to the county of Pembrokeshire. The plan for the new Tenby Cottage Hospital includes a purpose-built dental clinic, as well as a purpose-built podiatry clinic. "The existing facility is a single room with shared use by both dental (one and a half days a week). The chair in this clinic has never been the most suitable for podiatry, but we coped. That chair broke beyond repair during the summer this year. "As an immediate response, all clinics for both services were relocated to the nearest suitable health care centre (Pembroke Dock or Narberth) and no appointments were cancelled in either service because of the move. "Attempts have been made to identify a chair that is suitable for providing both dental and podiatry care; however, this has not proved possible. All opportunities have been considered in great detail, which has resulted in the time delay. The Trust met with representatives from the Tenby Local Implementation Group to discuss a way forward. "A decision was made to purchase a podiatry chair for the existing clinic, thereby ensuring that one of the services is provided at the existing Tenby Cottage Hospital. The dental service would be relocated to Pembroke Dock dental clinic on a temporary basis in anticipation of the new development in Tenby. "The Trust recognises the effect of increased travel time to patients from this decision, but would ask that the public understands why the decision has been made. Care is not being removed, it is being temporarily relocated. Patients from Tenby will be able to access Pembroke Dock dental clinic on any weekday, instead of being limited to a Monday morning or Friday. "The issue of cost of replacing the chair is not a factor, as two new chairs are to be purchased for the new development in Tenby. The Community Dental Service is responsible for providing a service throughout Pembrokeshire. There are 2.8 dentists working within the service which is under great pressure because of the lack of NHS dentists in the country. "The Trust is working with the Local Health Board to identify further opportunities for improved access to dental care in the country. Also there is active joint work in the development of an oral health promotion project that adopts a preventative approach with a view to better outcomes in the future. "All patients affected by this move will be personally informed by letter." The matter was also raised at Tuesday night's meeting of the town council, where Clr. Mrs. Caroline Thomas said: "The letter from Mr. Hunt and the problems he brought up, concerned me a great deal and I have a great amount of sympathy with the local people on this matter. "I think the message to get across to the local NHS Trust is that the situation at Tenby Cottage Hospital with the chair being shared for dental work and podiatry, although not ideal, was at least one that offered a compromise, and that patients would prefer an imperfect service rather than no service at all," she added.
