This year‘s April 1st increases in NHS dental patient charges for England have been announced. The British Dental Association has issued a combative statement which emphasises that such ‘stealth cuts‘ will not put a penny into struggling practices.
2 comments
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.
It is a source of some regret that the GDC, and in particular their communications team, refuse to communicate with GDPUK. A missed opportunity too, since our readers share the GDC‘s main ambition, to protect the public.
A survey of 1629 dental professionals by indemnity provider Dental Protection has revealed that close to two thirds of the profession feels burnt out.
A popular dental practice established in Tunbridge Wells in 1895 is to be closed at short notice, and the site will be redeveloped for housing. Patients and staff of Bupa owned Hill House Dental Care have reportedly been “left stunned” by the “out of the blue” decision.
As recently reported on GDPUK, the Department of Health & Social Care have announced that NHS England has now written to integrated care boards (ICBs) in each region, and told them to, “stand up thousands of urgent appointments over the next year.”
Read more: Mixed Response to Kinnock’s 700k Appointments Promise
Following the news that the NHS saw 2.2 million more patients between July and November 2024 than it managed over the same period in 2023, Health Minister Stephen Kinnock is hoping that the announcement will enable the government to fulfil another of its election pledges.
Read more: Government Confirms 700,000 Extra Urgent Appointments From April
From time to time there have been hopes of a revival in the fortunes of NHS dentistry. There was the promise of extra money that did not turn up. The promise of a ring fence to retain the existing funds, that turned out to be full of gaps.
Read more: Treasury Pulls the Strings at “Fixing NHS Dentistry Hearings”
A new study from the University of Buffalo published in the Journal of the American Dental Association has linked frequent recreational cannabis (FRC) use with caries and severe tooth loss.