Dental nurse, Joanne Gauntlett, was found guilty at a GDC tribunal of four misconduct breaches, having verbally abused staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth. She left staff in tears and scared to go to work including one she told ’social services will pick their child up from school’.
No commentsRead more: GDC suspends dental nurse manager for verbally abusing staff
The NHS has published COVID-19 guidance and standard operating procedures for urgent dental care systems in the context of coronavirus. It covers how arrangemnts for urgent care will operate in the current circumstances. The guidance is applicable to the delay phase of COVID-19 pandemic management.
Read more: COVID-19: Update: NHS publishes guidance for urgent dental care systems
In reply to a written question in the House of Lords, the Government has said the current guidance does not extend business rates relief to properties providing medical services, including dental practices, which have not been required to close to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and that there were no plans to amend this guidance further.
Read more: Government gives ‘clarification’ on business rates
The Practice Plan Group, which includes two of the UK’s leading membership plan providers, Practice Plan and DPAS, has announced that, in April and May, they will be giving back half of their monthly admin fee to their client practices to help them with cash flow throughout the Covid-19 crisis.
Read more: Practice Plan and DPAS to give back half of their admin fee to dentists
The BDA has issued a press release, Dentists: Practices weeks from collapse without rapid action from government which has attracted much media attention. It was based on a self-selected survey in which 71.5% of practices that responded reported they could only remain financially sustainable for 3 months or less, with 1 in 5 (20.4%) estimating they can only survive the month.
Read more: BDA warns that practices are weeks away from collapse without help from Government
The BDA has urged Chancellor Rishi Sunak to reassess his deal for the self-employed or see the viability of the dental service fatally undermined - as new evidence suggests over three-quarters of dentists will receive no support from the Treasury scheme, with some left with zero income for the foreseeable future.
Read more: BDA warns Chancellor that dental service is at risk