England’s 3% NHS Pay Rise Announced – But Will All of England’s NHS Dental Staff Receive It?
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- Published: Thursday, 22 July 2021 07:35
- Written by Chris Tapper
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The Government has confirmed a 3% pay award to NHS workers in England, meeting the recommendations made by the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Renumeration (DDRB).
The British Dental Association News website said “A long term approach to pay is now required to keep NHS dentistry viable.”
The 3% rise came after a much-criticised proposal announced in March by the Department of Health and Social Care, which said that only a rise of 1% was affordable.
The news was soon followed by today, when Welsh Health Minister Eluned Morgan also agreed a 3 per cent pay rise for all Welsh NHS staff, as she today accepted the recommendations of the pay review bodies in full, according to the The Leader website, Wrexham.
The 3% pay rise is for most NHS staff including nurses, dentists and salaried GP’s and is backdated to April 2021, according to the BBC News website.
But the rise from the government to NHS workers in England was being heavily criticised on Wednesday evening, as ‘paltry’, ‘appalling’ and ‘shambolic’ by union leaders, according to Sky News.
A statement made jointly by the Department of Health and Social Care, Secretary of State for Health Sajid Javid and MP Helen Whately, late on Wednesday, said “Government accepts recommendations of NHS independent pay review bodies in full for this year.”
And that “NHS staff (are) recognised for their pandemic contribution during an unprecedented year.”
“The government (is) committed to providing NHS staff with a pay uplift in recognition of the unique impact of the pandemic on the NHS.”
The statement went on to say “Dentists will receive a 3% uplift. This is in addition to reduced requirements on the activity they deliver for full payment of their contract, minus agreed deductions, that have been in place throughout and a renewed commitment to reforming the NHS dental contract.”
“Uplifts to dentists will be passed on via an uplift to their contract value.”
The statement said the Independent NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) and the Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Renumeration (DDRB) recommendations would be laid before Parliament on 22nd July.
But “The GMB union said the ‘insulting’ 3% pay rise offer had been ‘sneaked out’ as MPs are packing up for summer holidays," Sky News reported.
The BDA said on the BDA News website “With inflation now at 2.5% the BDA has stressed an ongoing commitment to fair pay is required to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the service, alongside parallel action on a roadmap to ease pandemic restrictions, and meaningful reform of the contractual systems NHS dentistry operates to.”
“The discredited activity-based systems in operation across the UK have fuelled recruitment and retention problems and have proved unworkable since lockdown.”
The announcement will see the 3% uplift on pay backdated to April, with no staging. This will apply to community dentists in full, with a final uplift to contract values for general dental practitioners to be confirmed following consultations on expenses in the four UK nations. Consultants will see a 3% uplift in basic pay (Specialty and Associate Specialists (SAS) and Juniors have separately agreed pay deals).
“The BDA has encouraged practice owners to engage with their associate dentists to discuss their contractual arrangements in light of the uplift.”
But there was speculation on social media about whether the 3% pay rise would actually be received by NHS dental professionals.
After the @DentistGoneBadd account on Twitter asked “I wonder if dental nurses will receive the full award in either corporate NHS practice or independent NHS practice?” there was much input of opinion.
Dentist Pramod Subarraman joked:
There have been a flood of 999 calls as dental practice owners choked on their dinners after reading @DentistGoneBadd ‘s tweet https://t.co/uLqkvCHjeB
— Pramod Subbaraman 🦷 (@briteeth) July 21, 2021
One experienced dental associate said of the possibility of a pay increase “No chance of that. Not had any increases however minuscule passed on to me for the last decade.”
Another associate said “Not had a pay rise in years, even though I worked all through lockdown in a hot hub UDC.”
Another dentist thought it was unlikely that the increase would be passed on. She said “No to associates and no to nurses and other team members unfortunately.”
GDPUK spoke directly to one corporate head dental nurse about the proposed rise, but she felt it unlikely she or her nursing colleagues would see the full rise.
She told GDPUK “I don’t think we will receive any as we technically work for the corporate and are classed as ‘sub-contracted.”
“Neither do we get NHS benefits, like an NHS pension, though we’d love to get one.”
Another corporate dental nurse told GDPUK that she HAD received incremental pay rises in the past, but they were “tiny.”
One dental commentator pointed out that in real terms, there would be a marked disparity in the value of the proposed 3% rise between dentist and dental nurse.
“A 3% rise to a dental nurse will make very little difference.”
“A 3% increase to a dental associate who earns £70k is significant.”
BBC News said “In theory, the pay-review bodies make recommendations for NHS staff across the UK - but it is up to the individual UK nations to decide whether to accept them.”
“In Scotland, most NHS staff have already been offered a 4% pay rise (backdated to December 2020). This follows a one-off Covid payment for health and social care staff of £500.”
BDA Deputy Chair Peter Crooks told BDA News “An uplift on the right side of inflation is progress. A decade of pay restraint has taken its toll, and we can never return to recommendations that fail to reflect the cost of living.”
“Both providers and performers need to see the benefit of this uplift. This has been a hard year for practices, but we look to owners to ensure this increase reaches their associates.”
“Even before COVID, a growing number of colleagues saw no future in the NHS. If we’re ever going to make this service a going concern then fair pay must remain the rule.”
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