BDA v Senedd: War Of Words Hots Up In Wales
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- Published: Wednesday, 05 March 2025 09:41
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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All is not well in Wales. As reported by GDPUK at the end of January, the British Dental Association Wales had accused the Welsh Government of trying to ‘pass the buck‘ on the record breaking delays delivering pay uplifts for dental contractors following the imposition of a 6% backdated rise.
This amount was deemed wholly insufficient as operating costs have risen by considerably more, rendering the ’increase’ a ’cut’. Energy alone is estimated to cost 10% more and laboratory costs have risen by 16.5% year on year.
To add to the profession’s anger, the Welsh government sought to add numerous administrative burdens to the contract, including a demand to repeat, by the end of June 2025, the antimicrobial audit undertaken in 2023/24. The results of this were to be compared with previous findings and discussions held with practice teams to identify any actions required to improve antibiotic prescribing.
Adding patient NHS numbers to all forms submitted on NHSBSA and transferring all waiting lists to the Dental Access Portal also by the end of June further alienated contract holders whose patience is already known to be thin.
Fast forward one month, and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in Wales, Jeremy Miles, having in January accused the profession of not being willing negotiate, has been sent an open letter by BDA Cymru Wales.
The letter, written by Dr Russell Gidney, Chair, BDA Welsh General Dental Practice Committee (WGDPC) and signed by numerous other luminaries, has the express purpose of ’calling out’ spin. half-truths or doublespeak deemed to have emanated from the government.
The Welsh government claims that following "significant investment" an additional 400,000 treatments have been carried out, however, the BDA is accusing spokespeople of ’doublespeak’ because patient numbers are 30% down on pre-pandemic figures.
Acknowledging that the BDA had refused to accept a 6% ’uplift’ Dr Gidney’s letter emphasises that the profession was more than willing to negotiate but that the government had closed off the possibility of negotiation via the imposition of its 6% figure.
The Welsh Government cited affordability, however, it proceeded to grant the BMA an 11% uplift for the GP service. Although the pay review element of this was 6%, additional funds were provided on a non-recurring basis to fund practice costs which, Dr Gidney said, demonstrated that dentists had been treated ’less favourably’ within the negotiation space.
Uplift Conditions Questioned
The BDA letter ’questions the validity’ of the numerous and unprecedented uplift conditions (populating all forms with NHS numbers, engaging with the Dental Access Portal, Antimicrobial Audit) which it claims will prove highly burdensome to practices.
Citing the requirement to hand patient waiting lists over to the Dental Access Portal, Dr Gidney wrote ’this condition seems obsolete now that the DAP has gone live across Wales and patients seeking NHS treatment are being encouraged to sign up directly. Practices would need to seek permissions from patients under GDPR before their data could be shared with the DAP. This represents an additional administrative burden that is not financed. Furthermore, there is a risk that there would be considerable data duplication.’
"We urge the Welsh Government to think again about these ‘strings’ and to consider the unintended consequences that may arise" says Dr Gidney. "We would be willing to meet with Government officials to discuss these in a non-negotiation space as part of our ongoing support of contract reform. We would hope that significant modifications to the conditions could be agreed in a collegiate manner."
The letter also raised serious concerns about the levels of funding, the continued hike in patient charges in order to reduce the amount the government puts in. It also sought to refute government claims regarding the number of dentists and the volumes of treatments being delivered.
"The reality is that NHS dental activity has stalled and may be about to fall off the cliff if the issues we and others have raised repeatedly are not addressed very soon" the letter concludes.
Consultation Promised
Quoted in Walesonline, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We are working to ensure the NHS dental contract is fairer for patients and to the dental profession. We have spent 13 months working with the British Dental Association to design the new contract. We will be putting the proposals out for consultation soon before any new contract is finalised."
Image Credit © Steve Van Russelt
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