Finance more important than reform, say NHS Confederation
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- Published: Tuesday, 08 March 2011 17:02
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Regulations have been laid to increase NHS dental charges in England from 1 April 2011. The charge for a band one course of treatment will increase by 50p from £16.50 to £17. For a band 2 course of treatment it will increase by £1.40 from £45.60 to £47. The charge for a band 3 course of treatment will increase by £6 from £198 to £204. These fees are deducted from NHS payments to dentists, so the rise is a further increase of taxation of patients who pay for their NHS dental treatment.
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| A Shropshire dentist who broke wind around patients has been struck off the Dentists Register for misconduct. The ban takes immediate effect. Matthew Walton, 35, found it ‘funny’ to break wind next to colleagues when they were trying to eat their lunch. The hearing was also told he also went behind the chair to make V-signs, as well as offending patients by demanding to see their cash before starting treatment. |
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| Scotland’s Children’s Minister Adam Ingram has confirmed that Scotland’s Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme goes live on 28 February 2011. The Scheme had been due to start last November but Ministers took the decision to postpone its introduction to ensure the system which supports it is fully fit for purpose and robust. |
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| The cost of seeing a dentist will be frozen at its 2006 level, Welsh Health Minister Edwina Hart has announced. She said “By freezing dental charges in Wales for the fifth year running, we are maintaining access to NHS dentistry for the people of Wales, ensuring charges remain affordable and in doing so helping to tackle oral health inequalities. |
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| The NHS Information Centre has published its latest figures on access and treatment. For the fifth consecutive quarter, the number of patients seen has exceeded the March 2006 baseline; when the current dental contract was introduced. A total of 28.9 million patients were seen, an increase of 2.7 per cent on 2006. The percentage of the population seen by an NHS dentist, at 55.8 per cent, is equal to the March 2006 level.
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The General Dental Council (GDC) has decided to postpone a vote on whether dentists should be able to continue using the ‘Dr’ courtesy title so that an impact assessment can be carried out allows proper consideration of the issue. Dr Susie Sanderson, Chair of the BDA’s Executive Board, said: “The GDC’s decision to defer its vote on this issue affords time for common sense to prevail.”
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Read more: Time for common sense to prevail: Susie Sanderson BDA
| The General Dental Council (GDC) must prioritise its role in protecting the public and stop wasting time and resources on whether dentists should be allowed to continue using the courtesy title ‘doctor’, the British Dental Association (BDA) has argued in a letter from chief executive, Peter Ward, to the GDC today. The letter has been sent ahead of a meeting of the GDC’s Council on Thursday (24 February 2011), which is due to consider a recommendation by GDC’s Standards Committee that dentists no longer be permitted to use the courtesy title. |
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| According to the Chicago Dental Society the strangest request any of their members had received was: ‘Can you give my dog braces?’ It surveyed more than 300 members to find out the strangest dental requests they'd ever received from patients. The survey was conducted for the Chicago Dental Society's 146th annual Midwinter Meeting, this February 24-26.
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