NHS Pay Uplift of 6% - For Some
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- Published: Monday, 05 August 2024 09:36
- Written by Peter Ingle
- Hits: 3493
There is some good news and some bad news for dentists providing NHS dental care. The good news first, the Doctors and Dentists Review Body (DDRB) has recommended an uplift intended to deliver a pay increase of 6% to dentists.
The not so good news, is that it is likely that many of those delivering NHS care will not receive the full 6%.
There are two particular reasons for this. Firstly the annual uplift incorporates two distinct elements, one to raise pay, and another to cover increases in costs of delivering care, for example, lab work and materials. This second category is known as the expenses element and is not decided by the DDRB, but the Department of Health and Social Care. With only the DDRB figure available, the total contract uplift is not yet known.
As a result the total contract uplift that those holding NHS contracts will receive, once the element in respect of the costs of delivering care is incorporated, could well be less than 6%.
The uncertainties do not end there. The uplift goes to contract holders. How they decide to share the increase with associates and other team members is up to them.
Walking something of a tightrope, the BDA say that associates “might reasonably look to the headline 6% for an indication of the expected uplift in their own income.” However they go on to add: “We recognise that practice income has been under enormous pressure for a number of years and therefore any decision on pay increases for associates will inevitably reflect local business circumstances, and will be a matter for direct negotiation between the parties.” The BDA observed that, “recruitment difficulties may also be a factor in pay negotiations between contract associates and practice owners.”
On X there was scepticism about how many dentists would actually see a 6% pay increase. Veteran observer of dental politics Michael Watson commented:
However it only applies to the 4000 dentists with contracts (+ corporates) not the 14000 associates who actually do the NHS work
— Michael Watson (@rmgwatson) July 30, 2024
The award is above inflation and double the 3% the last government had budgeted for.
While NHS dentists working in secondary care have been taking industrial action, many of those in primary care have been voting with their feet and reducing or ending their NHS commitment. There is also concern that a possible shortfall of the expenses element may eat into the intended pay part of the final award.
Shawn Charlwood, Chair of the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee said: “It’s welcome progress, but one above-inflation increase will not correct a decade of savage pay cuts with no equal. High street dentists have not taken industrial action. They are simply walking away. We won’t halt this exodus without real contract reform and fair, sustained funding.”
The BDA has figures showing that NHS dentists pay has dropped by over 40% in real terms since 2008. Even for those that receive it, a 6% award is dwarfed by the 20% increase gained by the junior doctors.
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