Dentists highlight crisis to the pay review body
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- Published: Wednesday, 25 April 2018 07:22
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Eddie Crouch, Vice Chair of the BDA’s PEC has written on their website about their evidence to the Review Body (DDRB). He said that the delegation that he led left the DDRB in no doubt that the viability of NHS dentistry is under threat ‘as we have never seen before’.
Eddie Crouch reported that every year the BDA provided the DDRB with substantial evidence of the difficulties faced across dentistry, and that year after year ‘we have been frustrated by their reluctance, or maybe refusal, to listen to what we have to say.’ The BDA pointed out that although they had had chosen to engage in the DDRB process this time around, this was only after considerable debate by the respective committees across the UK. They also reported that a motion passed at last year's Annual Conference of Local Dental Committees voted to withdraw from this, if the public sector pay cap remained in place - demonstrating the levels of frustration amongst practitioners.
Eddie told the DDRB in his opening remarks that the BDA were extremely unhappy about the unacceptable delays in processing the evidence for the DDRB. “To say that we were annoyed about the delay in being called to give evidence after a new financial year had started would be an understatement”, he told them.
The BDA expressed the profession’s anger at the disconnect between the evidence they submitted on the difficulties in recruiting and retaining NHS dentists, and the evidence submitted from the Health Departments around the UK. In effect, they have said there are no known recruitment issues, and quoted the gross numbers of dentists, ignoring the fact that increasing numbers are working part-time.
The BDA pointed out that we shouldn't have to wait until NHS dentistry collapses before the funds are found to invest in the nation's oral health.
In no uncertain terms, the BDA told the DDRB how dentists were still struggling to work with the ‘wretched’ contract that was implemented 12 years ago. Eddie gave evidence about the ‘massive’ rise in the numbers of dentists are unable to fulfil their targets, and how clawback jumped from £55 million to £81 million in one year in England, while in Wales, it had doubled in one year to £6.6 million. He said: “Practices are struggling to hit targets and also feel that they are not being given enough time to treat patients to the best of their abilities.”
The BDA left the DDRB in no doubt that the viability of NHS dentistry is under threat “as we have never seen before”. They told them that contracts are being handed back in many areas in England and Wales, and that even one of the major corporates is offloading practices and contracts that even it cannot make profitable.
Eddie said: “The massive cost incurred in procuring NHS dentistry is a false economy – and the money that NHS England spends on chasing contracts from the lowest bidder is failing taxpayers, and frankly driving dentists out of business.” Nothing the DDRB will do will replace that fall in income: this race to the bottom will see contracts fail as they have done so spectacularly this year in construction.
The BDA gives evidence on behalf of all dentists working in the NHS, not just members. The detailed report can be found on their website:
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