A woman from Stockport has spoken out to raise awareness of the issue after she was fined £100 for accidentally filling out a form incorrectly at her dentist. She said it affects thousands of people each year. She revealed that in her case: “The details were correct – I had just put them in the wrong box.” The BSA has reported that a total of 217,539 fines were issued in the first six months of 2017/18.
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A study from the University of York looking into how financial arrangements with dentists affect what goes on in the dentist's chair has found a marked increase in the number of X-rays when dentists receive payment for them. It concludes that dentists' calculation of the benefits vs the risks of X-rays is being distorted by financial incentives.
Read more: Patient exposure to X-rays depends on how dentists are paid
Richmond (Yorkshire) MP Rishi Sunak has announced that following talks NHS England dental commissioners had pledged that funding used to pay for NHS services at mydentist would not be lost and instead transferred to other dentists nearby. This follows a decision by the corporate to close its practices in Richmond and Catterick Garrison.
Read more: Local MP secures services after closure of mydentist practice
NHS hospitals will no longer provide office or advertising space for law firms or claims management companies who encourage patients or their families to take the NHS to court, NHS England has announced. Every effort must also be made to ensure lawyers and claims managers don’t approach patients or their families in hospital to drum up business without being asked first.
The BDA has urged government to take NHS primary care support services away from troubled subcontractor Capita. The Association has called on Government to make a decisive break in light of Capita’s dismal long-term performance. BDA Chair of General Dental Practice Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen said: “Continuity of care now requires that these contracts are taken back in-house by the NHS, so dentists can get back to work.”
A recruitment crisis for NHS dentists is imminent, and set to deepen access problems across England, according to new data from the BDA. PEC Vice Chair Eddie Crouch said: “It is a damning indictment of current policy that the dentists who go over and above with NHS care are now paying the price in low morale”.