Ministers have had to respond to two recent news stories, the BDA’s press release that half of dentists were considering leaving the NHS and the news that fines were being levied on patients who had wrongly claimed exemption from charges. The replies were aimed to be reassuring it would appear.
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HM Revenue & Customs is cracking down on tax avoidance schemes sold to agency staff, who themselves cost the NHS £3bn a year, according to a report in the Sunday Times. They have launched an investigation into tax avoidance schemes being sold to NHS agency doctors and nurses with claims they can take home up to 90% of their pay.
Hospitals have been ordered to take super-size chocolate bars and “grab bags” of sugary snacks off of the shelves in the latest step of the NHS plan to fight obesity, diabetes and tooth-decay. Simon Stevens, NHS England’s chief executive, said: “The NHS is now stepping up action to combat the ‘super-size’ snack culture.”
The BBC reports that more than 40,000 people a year in England are getting fines of £100 or £150 - from an automated system that dentists say is hitting the most vulnerable. The fines, which amount to about £4m per year, are being applied by a random screening process that checks on whether people going to the dentist are really eligible for free treatment.
The GDC has appointed four new clinical dental advisers and a senior dental adviser to join its fitness to practise team. They are Margaret Naylor, Richard Cox, Richard Lawson, Shamir Mehta and Christopher Roome. The new members will advise on the clinical aspects of a fitness to practise investigation using written reports and all of the new appointments are currently practising dentistry.
In answer to a Parliamnetary Question by Steve McCabe, junior health minister Steve Brine published a table showing that last year 4.4 million UDAs, with a value of £129 million were not delivered in 2,409 contracts. In answer to another question Mr Brine said 22.2 million adults and 6.8 million children were seen by a dentist last year.
It has been reported that snack companies are spend 27 times more pushing sugary and salty foods than the government does on promoting healthy eating. Additionally, the food watchdog has found that coconut water could be just as harmful as many sugary drinks. However a health minister has said they will publish an assessment of its programme for sugar reduction next year.
In its latest report on the sectors it regulates, the Care Quality Conmission (CQC) said the picture for the dental sector was positive. The majority (88%) of dental practices that they inspected were meeting regulations relating to all five key questions. Both BDA and FGDP(UK) have welcomed these findings, as a 'recognition of the dedication and professionalism of dentists and dental practice teams across England.'
The latest practice goodwill survey results have just been released by The National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers (NASDAL) and it does appear that the market as a whole is still buoyant. However, there may be a geographical divide opening up across the UK, with the hoighest values in London, the South East, Birmingham and Manchester.