Posted on 12/07/2006 8:22:56 PM PST by ChildOfThe60s
Our dental system in crisis
SARAH HALL 05 December 2006 10:29
NHS dentistry in Norfolk has reached crisis point with dentists leaving the profession because they believe quality care is no longer being delivered to patients.
The controversial new dental contract, introduced in April this year, has caused dentists and patients to go private over fears the cost of dental appointments would rise and patients would be seen less often.
Figures from the Strategic Health Authority show 27 out of 143 dental contracts offered in the county were rejected - but that number is set to rise in the coming months.
Under the new contracts a check-up will rise from £5 to £15.50 and the price of a single filling will rise from between £6 and £11 to £42.40.
There are fears this could mean many more patients being forced to pay for private treatment and the end of NHS dentistry.
Jason Stokes, from the John G Plummer dental practice in Dussindale, is part of the Norfolk dental committee and is leaving the NHS after 15 years.
He said: “Following the implementation of the new contract in April, I do not see a future for the highest quality dental care under the NHS. This is why I am leaving the practice.
“The new system for providing dental care
was forced on the general public, dental profession
and PCTs with little or no consultation.
“Since April 1, every patient, dentist and PCT in England is testing this new system, and the early signs are not encouraging.
“Unfortunately the PCT has a large budget deficit and needs to save money. There has been discussion of lowering the value paid to dentists for their NHS activity (measured in Units of Dental Activity - UDAs).
“With the ever-spiralling costs of new equipment, employing suitably qualified staff, keeping up to date with the latest techniques and ensuring a dental practice complies with cross-infection guidelines, the cost of providing dental care is escalating way above inflation.”
Mr Stokes will move to a private practice in Cathedral Street in Norwich.
Figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre nationally show the number of NHS dentists fell from 21,211 on March 31 to 19,642 on June 30 this year - a drop of 1,649. The reforms were supposed to improve access for dentists who were described as working on a “treadmill” under the old system.
As reported in the Evening News, children who need orthodontic treatment are being forced to wait more than three years because of a shortage of funding and specialist dentists.
Nick Stolls from Oasis dental practice in Harleston, who serves on the local dental committee, said: “A lot of dentists who showed their unhappiness with the new contract left the profession at the start. We are now seeing the next batch who are realising they might not stick with it.”
A spokesman for Norfolk PCT said: “If we find that more dentists leave then we will advertise again using the released contract money to pay for new services.
“We would hope that any dentist who was experiencing difficulties in respect of their contract would talk to us about their concerns.”
Ü Call NHS direct on 0845 46 47 to find out where local NHS practices are and how to get in touch with them.
Ü Have you had problems finding a dentist? Contact Sarah Hall on 01603 772443 or e-mail sarah.hall2@archant.co.uk
One [well educated] friend of mine claims he has heard nothing negative about it. Except, of course, from right wing extremists such as myself. Patients spending their stays in the hospital on gurneys in the hall? Nah, conservative horror tales made up to scare children.
Dental system in England? Who knew?
Yeah Baby!
When I lived in the UK I was very pleased with my National Health Dentist and Orthodontist. I paid him cash and my wife received about 3000 dollars of work for about a 1000 dollars. She went to the front of the line. Capitalism at work in the dark corners of socialized medicine.
From the Afterword of the book: "Our survey of national health insurance in countries around the world provides convincing evidence that government control of health care usually makes citizens worse off. When health care is free at the point of consumption, rationing by waiting is inevitable. Government control of the health care system makes the rationing problem worse as governments attempt to slow the use of services by limiting access to modern medical technology. Under government management, both efficiency and quality of patient care steadily deteriorate."
(Tell him an Ivy League Ph.D. put you on to the book).......
The British have a crisis in dental care??? I can't believe that! (/s)
Ah, the perpetual fly in the ointment. Facts. Not just his prejudices, but his entire world view are at risk. That's why libs deny the existance of facts such as these. Facts would destroy the foundation of their entire belief system.
No gratuitous British dental jokes to offer, unfortunately.
This from the nation that gave the world Adam Smith.
Granted that it won't do any good, but after he finishes "Lives at Risk" he might spend a little time reading NHS Blog Doctor, http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/.
They tried to make all physicians in one of the Canadian provinces do ER time or else--lose ability to practice or whatever. There is a huge doctor shortage in Canada. Leaving aside the fact that an ER run by a dermatologist is likely to kill someone who needs high end trauma care, they found it a tad difficult to force physicians to work.
Someone smart enough to be a doc is smart enough to find jobs that actually pay.
so you are saying that the more people we deny health insurance and services by making it so expensive that only the well off can afford it, the better the care is?
that sounds like the cruelest form of social darwinism---the survival of the richest
I'm sure the socialist response will be to ban all private practice.
No way they are making too much money out of it. Our local NHS hospital runs private clinics and if you want a MRI scan and do not want to wait in line for months pay the NHS and like dad have it within days.
You stuck a nerve. I have for a long time wanted to hear someone call Hillary (and Bill) on their failure to implement their highly proclaimed HealthCare system. I beleive that their proposal of free health care was the single most important factor contributing to his winning the presidency. They could just as well have run on a platform of "No more War - World Peace, etc".
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