Scottish Dentists Win More Funding For NHS Care
June 4th, 2008 | by admin |
Dentists whose work concentrates on children and charge-exempt adult patients may be eligible to access some additional funding that recognises their commitment to the NHS, it was announced recently. Scottish Government proposals to change the way dentists’ commitment to the NHS is recognised were endorsed by a vote of the BDA’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee (SDPC). The change comes after sustained BDA campaigning.
As a result of the changes, practices which treat high numbers of exempt patients may have part of their rent reimbursed on a sliding scale and could be eligible for an enhancement of their General Dental Practice Allowance (GDPA) payments. Under the current arrangements, some practices are ineligible for both enhanced GDPA payments and any rent reimbursement. An extra degree of flexibility is also being introduced for committed practices.
Campaigning by the BDA highlighted the unfairness of the criteria for the definition of commitment imposed in October 2007 under which approximately one-third of practices providing NHS care were not eligible to benefit from the current arrangements.
Colin Crawford, Chair of SDPC, said:
“This issue has caused a great deal of concern, penalising many dentists who provide NHS care mainly to children and exempt adults and creating a sense of injustice for dentists across Scotland. These changes represent a sensible way forward that recognises the contribution of all dentists providing NHS care.”
Full details of the changes are available http://www.bda.org/docs/0688_001.pdf.
1.Patients who are exempt from NHS dental charges include those aged 18 who are in full-time education, those in receipt of certain benefits including income support or job seekers allowance, holders of exemption certificates and those who are pregnant or who have had a baby in the previous 12 months.
2.The British Dental Association (BDA) is the professional association for dentists in the UK. It represents over 20,000 dentists working in general practice, in community and hospital settings, in academia and research, and in the armed forces.
British Dental Association
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