Modest fees uplift doesn’t go far enough
BDA criticises ‘decade of under-investment’ in NHS dentistry
Scottish dentists have welcomed the modest uplift on item of service fees for 2017/18, but remain concerned that they remain the lowest paid in the UK after confirmation of the DDRB’s 1 per cent uplift on pay.
Despite the Scottish Government’s announcement of a 2.25 per cent increase in item of service fees, the BDA in Scotland insists it doesn’t go far enough. It argues that earnings and expense levels for NHS dentists in Scotland have fallen by nearly 30 per cent in real terms since 2009, for both practice owners and associates, while costs of regulatory compliance and registration have gone up by 1,086 per cent in the last decade.
Robert Donald, chair of the BDA’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee said: “A decade of under investment continues to fatally undermine recruitment, retention and investment. The Scottish Government need to choose between their commitment to pay restraint and the sustainability of an NHS dental system on which our patients depend.”
Comments are closed here.