Dentists pay deal in Wales ‘a cut in all but name’
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- Published: Tuesday, 09 October 2018 07:44
- Written by News Editor
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Welsh Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething AM, has announced a new pay deal for doctors and dentists in Wales, which includes a higher salary increase than the deal agreed in England. BDA Wales has criticised the rise, saying austerity pay and the Welsh Government’s refusal to let go of a system of rigid targets is leaving the very future of the service in doubt.
The BDA points out that earnings for dentists in Wales are currently 30% less than their opposite numbers in England. Practitioners in England and Wales have experienced real terms falls in income of up to 35% over the last decade. New data also show that morale in the profession has fallen to its lowest levels since 2000 and more than half of dentists are considering leaving the profession.
Tom Bysouth, Chair of the BDA’s Welsh General Dental Practice Committee, said: “The Welsh Government’s below-inflation pay deal is another pay cut in all but name. Morale in the dental profession is at an all-time low, thanks to a failed contract and real terms pay squeeze without parallel in the UK public sector. It’s bad news for patients that Ministers remain so wedded to a system that actively penalises prevention, and a pay policy that undermines the very sustainability of NHS services.”
Pay rise
Minister Mr Gething has confirmed that the Welsh Government has agreed in full the recommendations of the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB):
- a 2% base increase for salaried doctors and dentists, and General Dental Practitioners (GDPs)
- an additional 2% for independent contractor GMPs, salaried GMPs and to the GMP trainers’ grant and the GMP appraisers’ rate
- an additional 1.5% for Specialty and Associate Specialist (SAS) doctors.
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