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Published: Monday, 09 December 2019 07:36

Written by News Editor

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The Herald (Scotland) reports that a Scottish dentist, who was wrongly pursued for more than £50,000 in ’misclaimed’ treatment fees only for the case against him to be dropped days before it was due to go to court, has accused the Practitioner Services Division of making practitioners sick with "protracted, false, and threatening" investigations. 

Hugh Taggart, from East Renfrewshire, was forced to cash in his pension and sell both his dental practices during the five-year ordeal.  The father-of-two, 56, said he was also prepared to sell the family home he shares with his wife and children aged 10 and 13 when Practitioner Services Division (PSD) suddenly backed out of bringing the case against him at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court in October. 

Mr Taggart has now referred two of the senior dentists involved in bringing the case against him to the General Dental Council (GDC), claiming that they knowingly made false allegations against him and were "threatening and abusive" in their correspondence - including warning him that the investigation would be intensified if he refused to pay PSD the £53,108 he was told he owed.

Mr Taggart added that he is also keen to bring his experience to light because court documents and minutes appear to show that the regulator has been collecting and keeping thousands of pounds in fees that should be paid back to dental patients if their treatment is found to have been unnecessary or incorrect. 

"I just feel like I’ve lost the last five years of my life," he told the newspaper. "I cashed in pensions, I sold my businesses, we were on the verge of selling our home when this was dropped. I’m absolutely disgusted at the length of time it’s taken - it’s put me through absolute hell. There are a number of scandals within this, but what really burns within me is that I’ve not had the opportunity for my day in court to relay this to the profession, because the dental profession really doesn’t understand what is going on."

A spokeswoman for NHS said: “In 2013 the system identified a high level of claiming by Mr Taggart for a specific procedure, and an investigation took place. PSD commenced to recover overpayments from Mr Taggart’s ongoing payments for General Dental Services treatment each month. The case did not proceed to court because it was not in the overall interest of the public purse to continue with legal action. It was determined that, independent of the outcome, the cost of recovery from Mr Taggart would exceed the overpayment amount itself.” 

For full story go to:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18085497.dentist-put-hell-false-53-000-misclaiming-allegation/

David McColl, chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee, said Mr Taggart’s case underlined the huge stress the system could place on practitioners.  He told the newspaper: “Dental treatment payments, and the regulations that underpin them, remains unfit for purpose. They are difficult to administer and seems set up to allow practitioners to fail. Officials should be providing real clarity and support, not setting up a minefield for dentists attempting to deliver the best possible care for patients under incredibly difficult circumstances. There is no place for bullying or threats to recover fees. While the Practioner Services Division (PSD)has made some improvements, further progress is urgently needed. Until then dedicated NHS dentists will keep falling foul of a system that lacks transparency.”

To see BDA’s full story go to:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18085547.dentists-tripped-fees-system-set-fail/

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