Efforts to boost NHS dental services in Ceredigion have faltered after a tender to award contracts failed to attract any bids.

Hywel Dda Health Board had gone out to tender to find dentists that would take on NHS work under contracts, but not a single bid was received in Ceredigion for the three contracts on offer in the county.

The health board had gone out to tender for contracts in south Ceredigion, Aberystwyth and an out-of-hours contract for south Ceredigion.

The three contracts were estimated to be worth a combined £335,000 annually as part of an overall health board wide contract estimate of just under £950,000.

A report that went before the health board at a meeting on Thursday, 28 March said more work was needed to ensure that access to dental services is available in south Ceredigion and that would be an “investment priority” for 2019/20.

It said: “The health board has previously tendered twice for NHS dental services in this area and has not been successful in attracting any bids.

"The dental team will need to consider how it can deliver dental access in this area as part of the Phase 2 investment for 2019/20.

"Dental access in south Ceredigion is 0.4 units of dental activity per head population versus the health board average of 1.3 units of dental activity per head population.”

The board went out to tender in December 2017 with the exercise completed in May 2018 with contracts across other areas that attracted bids being awarded on 1 June.

A total of 12 contracts were offered, with five attracting no bids – the three Ceredigion contracts as well as a north Pembrokeshire contract and an out-of-hours contract for the Amman Valley.

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