Government agrees 2.5% pay rise for dentists
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- Published: Tuesday, 23 July 2019 08:09
- Written by News Editor
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The Government has approved a recommendation from the Review Body (DDRB) report, that there should be a 2.5% general uplift in the pay element of dentists’ contracts, backdated to April 2019. This percentage will, however, only be paid once the expenses element has been negotiated with the GDPC.
The DDRB has recommended at 2.5% increase in pay scales and contract payments for all doctors and dentists, including GDP contract holders in England and Wales, but not associates. Practice owners may pass the rise on to associates in part or in full.
The rises in the pay element also apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland, but their implementation will be subject to further negotiations.
Recruitment and retention
NHS England told the Review Body that overall workforce numbers appeared adequate in order to meet the needs of the population, and that the number of dentists had increased. It said that current income levels were ‘sufficient’ to recruit and retain the dental workforce.
However, the BDA in its evidence said that it believed that their concern about the looming crisis they had identified in general practice recruitment and retention, as reported in last year’s report, had not abated and remained an urgent concern. The BDA also told the DDRB that problems with recruitment and retention of associates in particular, along with a reduction in providing-performers had, resulted in the return or reduction of NHS contracts, sometimes with the closure of NHS practices.
Motivation
The DDRB had the results from the Dental Working Hours Motivation and Morale survey, for 2016-17 and 2017-18, published by NHS Digital. This showed that:
- Only 1 in 5 dentists agreed or strongly agreed that their pay was fair
- Just under half of all dentists agreed or strongly agreed that they felt good about their job as a dentist
- Between 30-40% of dentists agreed or strongly agreed that they had opportunities to progress in their career
- Between 2014-15 and 2017-18 the proportion of dentists saying that they agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that they thought about leaving general dentistry increased
- Just 20 per cent of providing-performer dentists in England & Wales rated their morale as high or very high
- Dentists most frequently cited increasing expenses or declining income, the risk of litigation, the cost of indemnity fees and regulations as a cause of low morale
- The surveys suggested that the more hours worked and the higher the proportion of work done on NHS/Health Service work, the lower the levels of motivation.
Workforce pressures
The DDRB heard again from the BDA that NHS dentistry had reached crisis point due to pay and workload issues. However, they said, “these reports continue to contrast strongly with the assessments we receive from the health departments, which report improving access for patients and quality of care and an ability to be able to let competitive contracts for NHS dentistry”.
British Dental Association comment
BDA Vice Chair Eddie Crouch said: “Pay uplifts on the right side of inflation shouldn’t be exceptional, and represent a bare minimum in terms of government’s duty of care to NHS dentists. We have taken evidence from our members on a recruitment and retention crisis to pay review bodies, to the press, and parliamentarians. We have shown how a decade of pay restraint has put the future of this service in doubt. And we will not change tack.
“This approach cannot be a one-off, or reserved for special occasions. Nor does it undo the damage wrought by ten years of cuts. Colleagues will have heard the death knell for austerity pay policy rung out before. NHS dentistry now requires consistency and investment, so all providers and performers can see the benefit.”
Link
To DDRB Report:
To Government response:
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