The BDA has expressed grave concerns that the DHSC is backtracking on pledges to break with its discredited policy of automatically fining patients accused of ‘misclaiming’ free NHS dental care. Charlotte Waite, Chair of the BDA’s England Community Dental Services Committee said: "Vulnerable patients will keep turning away from check-ups as long as Ministers refuse to let go of their failed fines policy.”
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The Government is consulting on a new set of proposals to offer senior clinicians more control over their pensions growth, so they can continue to provide the services that patients need. They say that senior NHS clinicians are concerned that pension tax charges are making them retire early or change their working habits.
Read more: Government launches consultation over NHS pensions
Dental Protection, while welcoming the GDC’s proposal to allow more time to provide information in fitness to practise hearings relating to a clinical concern, is calling for an extension to also apply to non-clinical cases. Raj Rattan, Dental Director at Dental Protection said: “We have been working with the GDC to introduce a range of reforms that will speed up the overall investigation process.”
Read more: Allow more time to respond to allegations says Dental Protection
The British Dental Association (BDA) has launched a new toolkit to support safeguarding of children and young people who miss appointments, often for reasons beyond their control. Charlotte Waite, Chair of the BDA’s England Community Dental Services Committee said: “This new pathway is an important step forward to keeping children and young people safe.”
Read more: ‘Was not brought’: a new toolkit for missed appointments
Botox treatments should be taxed as a vanity treatment and not permitted to be tax-free as a medical therapy a court ruled last week. In a precedent-setting first-tier tax tribunal judgment, a judge ruled in favour of HMRC in its case against a southwest London skincare clinic, Skin Rich, that had provided injections without paying VAT. But this probably won’t apply to dentists offering such treatments.
In an open letter to MPs, The King’s Fund, the Health Foundation and Nuffield Trust, summarise the four major areas where the impact of a no deal Brexit could be felt most sharply in health and care. Their conclusion is that a no deal Brexit could cause significant harm to these services and the people who rely on them.