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Published: Wednesday, 27 June 2012 11:52

Written by News Editor

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The incidence of dental practitioners being subjected to substantial demands for the return of NHS funds is growing rapidly. In many cases the demands read more like telephone numbers than sensible adjustments resulting from minor contract discrepancies.

Clawback for underperformance, restitution for alleged inappropriate claiming and attempts to extract cash from practices as a result of year end reviews form a tapestry of PCT behaviour that is causing worrying levels of stress among NHS contract holders. The worry may fall on the contract holder first but the consequences of an ill-advised settlement often end up with associates being presented with demands for repayment of their earnings as well. Add to this the damage to NHS pension payments and the internal strife caused within practices and you have a dangerous situation for the industry.

Sadly, many NHS contract holders seek to deal with these problems by themselves without seeking the excellent professional help that is available – if you know where to look. This may be through ignorance, a feeling that all such advice is unlikely to help but will certainly cost a lot of money or a belief that the end result is inevitable. This attitude is unlikely to produce the best possible outcome for the practice – whether it is the provider or the performer that is being discussed.

In almost all such cases it is possible, with the help of a solicitor who knows NHS dental contracts well, an accountant who has an intimate knowledge of the way PCTs work and with dental advisers who have wide experience of dealing with this kind of case, to at least mitigate the damage – and that can mean savings of many thousands of pounds.

In seeking help, the practitioner can ask the BDA (if they are a member) who have some limited help available, they can ask their LDC member who may have some idea where to look or they may have to rely on a friend who knows somebody who knows a bit about the problem.

John Renshaw’s proposal is to create an A TEAM of professional support the ordinary dentist can call on to help when facing this kind of challenge.

The A TEAM would be able to provide the names of individuals and firms that can offer the right kind of help and the potential client could be assured the people they speak to have the kind of knowledge that is needed to deal with the problem or they can call on others within the A TEAM to help out as is appropriate.

The A TEAM would be made up of accountants, solicitors and dental advisers with real experience of working in this specific field. They would focus on dealing with the rogue element among the PCTs in England who appear to be aiming to reduce their budget shortfalls by robbing the dental members of their primary care workforce.

This is not a money making exercise, signposting an enquiry to the A TEAM will be free. The use of services provided by members of the A TEAM will have to be paid for.

Enquiries about the A TEAM can be made in the first instance to John Renshaw of Oral Care Consulting Ltd who has agreed to act as the first port of call for the A TEAM. His email address is :  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Don’t give up hope, get help from a group of very experienced professionals who may be able to save you a fortune. If your PCT is giving you a hard time, don’t simply pay up. Get some good advice and support from people who can really help.

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