NHS unions, including the BDA, have issued a blueprint for safe opening of healthcare. They are calling on the UK governments and employers to work with us to deliver our new nine-point blueprint for a safe return to work for NHS staff. BDA meets Health Minister to discuss return to work.
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Dental Protection has called on the Welsh Government to look again at its offer to provide dentists with 80% of their NHS annual contract value (ACV), following concerns that the offer will be insufficient for many. Raj Rattan, Dental Director at Dental Protection said: “The Covid-19 crisis has caused significant worry and concern for dentists in Wales”.
Read more: Covid-19: Dental Protection urges Welsh Government to look again at support offer
The BDA says it is taking urgent legal advice in respect to insurers not paying insurance claims made by dentists in regard to business interruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have instructed law firm Brown Rudnick LLP to examine insurance policies affecting dental practices.
The Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will remain open until the end of October, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced. Furloughed workers across UK will continue to receive 80% of their current salary, up to £2,500. New ‘flexibility’ will be introduced from August to get employees back to work and boost the economy, he said.
Nothing has changed in relation to the guidance offered by the various UK administrations on the provision of dentistry. Although it might appear that new regulations permit the reopening of dental practices in England, this is not the case, says the BDA. Additionally, ‘Dentists must not be pressured into overprescribing antibiotics,’ says Susie Sanderson.
The British Orthodontic Society has recently published a document on its website (https://www.bos.org.uk/COVID19-BOS-Advice/Recovery-Phase-Advice/What-is-an-orthodontic-AGP) that considers what constitutes an Aerosol Generating Procedure in clinical practice. Further guidance will be published as it becomes available.
Read more: New advice on Aerosol Generating Procedures in orthodontic practice