BDA urges Scottish Government to pay up
BDA Scotland is calling on the Scottish Government to accept the recommendation in the 47th report of the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) of an above inflation 2.5 per cent net uplift for general dental practitioners.
It follows the announcement that the UK Government had accepted the 2.5 per cent recommendation for dentists in England. The uplift will be backdated to April, with no staging.
This apply to community dentists, with a final uplift to contract values for general dental practitioners to be confirmed following a consultation on expenses. Hospital dentists will see a 2.5 per cent uplift in basic pay, but with no increase in their clinical excellence awards, meaning an overall uplift of 2.35 per cent.
The pay rises there will be backdated to the start of each work force’s financial year and, across the public sector, represent a rise of 2.75 per cent for school teachers, 2.5 per cent for consultants and dentists, 2.5 per cent for police officers, 2.9 per cent for personnel in the armed forces, at least 2.2 per cent for prison officers and 2 per cent for senior civil servants and senior military staff.
The BDA has focused media and political attention on how “failure to deliver reform combined with a 35 per cent real-terms collapse in practitioner incomes is now jeopardising the long-term sustainability of NHS dentistry”. It has insisted that announced increase must not be a one-off and should send a clear signal to devolved administrations.
In Scotland, the BDA is also calling on the Scottish Government to award at least 3 per cent for expenses, introduce the overall pay uplifts as soon as possible, and backdate them to April.
David McColl, Chair of the Scottish Dental Practice Committee, said: “While we were disappointed in the delay in publishing the DDRB report, the Scottish Government now needs to follow its Westminster counterpart and announce that it accepts the DDRB recommendation.
“To avoid significant recruitment and retention problems, an above-inflation increase is now the very least ministers can do if they want NHS dentistry in Scotland to remain sustainable.
“Implementing DDRB recommendations in full won’t reverse a 30 per cent collapse in real incomes, but it will send a clear signal that we have finally turned a corner on a pay policy that has put increasing pressure on NHS services.”
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