The British Dental Association (BDA) has called for urgent reform of dental payments in Northern Ireland following research that identified a 60% gap between current funding and the cost of providing Health Service dentistry.
The association pointed to the General Dental Services in Northern Ireland Cost of Service Review – a report commissioned by the Department of Health (DoH) - that suggests dentists need to receive £145 per hour to cover the cost of delivering care.
The BDA said the finding highlights the financial pressure facing general dental services (GDS) and argued that it should form the basis of an immediate review of fees.
The professional body warned that the funding shortfall was contributing to dentists moving away from Health Service work, with falling patient registrations and reduced activity affecting access to care.
The BDA said: ‘The starting point must be to pay dentists at the recognised rate for each and every aspect of Health Service dentistry our Government chooses to commission going forward.’
The association added that any decisions about limiting services because of funding constraints should be the responsibility of the DoH and Northern Ireland Executive, rather than leaving practices to absorb the shortfall.
Since the report was published, the BDA has held discussions with health economist Professor Ciaran O’Neill, who conducted the research, and Martina Moore, the DoH’s director of primary care.
It has also engaged with the Northern Ireland Assembly Health Committee and written to the department’s permanent secretary, Mike Farrar, calling for immediate action.
The association expressed concern about the time needed to complete payment reform, which is planned to be finished ahead of a wider public consultation next spring.
‘Every day that passes is a day longer that this service is being underpaid, and that is not a tolerable position,’ it said.
The BDA also called for an Index of Dental Costs, as recommended by the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration, to account for inflationary increases in practice expenses and prevent similar funding gaps developing in future.
The BDA is due to meet DoH officials and the health minister in the coming weeks to discuss the next steps.
It added: ‘Extra investment in GDS is clearly required; but reverting to what was previously the DoH default position where payment reform cannot be taken forward due to the position of public finances would be irrational, it would be a deliberate choice to ignore the evidence and would represent the death-knell of this vital service.’