Asked for Dental NHS Scale and Polish.Told "Go to Hygienist at £25 extra"

nuttywoman

At the dentist my sister was registered with, if she does`nt go to a hygenist Before she has her dental check up, the dentist won`t see her!! It was £30 a pop !!.
I told her she should`nt have to pay for what she`s expecting NHS treatment.

boozercruiser

nuttywoman wrote: »

At the dentist my sister was registered with, if she does`nt go to a hygenist Before she has her dental check up, the dentist won`t see her!! It was £30 a pop !!.
I told her she should`nt have to pay for what she`s expecting NHS treatment.

:mad::mad::mad:

welshdent

See booze that DOES sound a bit fishy if they were expecting NHS care ... and dare I say private. Because technically speaking, the only person who can request a scale and polish is a dentist because only a dentist can treatment plan. So with that in mind how can one treatment plan work for an individual if they have not first seen in the mouth of a patient?? I am deliberately ignoring the cost element here. What one person agrees to pay or not to pay is their business. A scale and polish should only be provided on the say so therefore referral of a dentist.

Toothsmith

Exactly right.

I can see what the dentist is trying to pull here - until he's seen her she neither has nor has not been 'accepted' as an NHS patient. So he's neatly sidestepped the rule about providing all necessary care on the NHS to an NHS patient.

BUT - as Welsh rightly says - in doing so he has broken what is probably a much bigger and more important rule of prescribing treatment without seeing the patient.

He's taken it from a matter that would earn him a slap on the wrist from the PCT to a potential career threatening 'professional misconduct' case.

Toothsmith

On thinking about that a bit more, If the patient has attended the practice before, then an 'instruction' for a patent to see a hygienist from the dentist is valid for 3 years.

Your NHS contract with that dentist is only valid for that course of treatment though, and any problems arising within 8 weeks of completing it.

Therefore, a dentist COULD see a patient, provide any necessary treatment on the NHS, and then 'prescribe' 6 monthly hygienist visit. That would be an end to that NHS contract.

Then, in 6 months, he could easily, and legally insist on the (prescribed) hygienist visit before he sees her for her next NHS check up and resulting course of treatment. If he re-states his hygienist prescription at that point, then any time the patient wishes to re-attend within the next 3 years, the hygienist prescription is still valid.

Providing at the first visit, the patient has seen the dentist and has been prescribed a hygienist visit - which, as it's necessary, has been provided on the NHS - then this is a very clever, and a very legal, way ofthe dentist getting round the 'private' hygienist dilemma.

You would need a large patient base desperate for NHS treatment to be able to get away with this though. But hey - that's what we've got!

boozercruiser

Toothsmith wrote: »

On thinking about that a bit more, If the patient has attended the practice before, then an 'instruction' for a patent to see a hygienist from the dentist is valid for 3 years.

Your NHS contract with that dentist is only valid for that course of treatment though, and any problems arising within 8 weeks of completing it.

Therefore, a dentist COULD see a patient, provide any necessary treatment on the NHS, and then 'prescribe' 6 monthly hygienist visit. That would be an end to that NHS contract.

Then, in 6 months, he could easily, and legally insist on the (prescribed) hygienist visit before he sees her for her next NHS check up and resulting course of treatment. If he re-states his hygienist prescription at that point, then any time the patient wishes to re-attend within the next 3 years, the hygienist prescription is still valid.

Providing at the first visit, the patient has seen the dentist and has been prescribed a hygienist visit - which, as it's necessary, has been provided on the NHS - then this is a very clever, and a very legal, way ofthe dentist getting round the 'private' hygienist dilemma.

You would need a large patient base desperate for NHS treatment to be able to get away with this though. But hey - that's what we've got!

:eek::hello::D

boozercruiser

Well, I am off on a few days holiday now, so I will not see any further comments for a while.

Many thanks to all that have contributed to the thread, even those that have had a pop at me.

It looks like some people have or still can be saved anything from £30 to £50 by requesting a Scrape and Polish rather than be shoved off to the growing Hygienist Industry which has mainly sprung up since the new hated by all Dentists NHS contracts.

If I have done this, whatever the rights and wrongs I have achieved what this Forum was set up to do..................

Save People Money!

I rest my case.

P.S. I have to keep next Fridays appointment for my Scale and Polish because I need to present the Dentist with one of my fillings about the size of a small pea.


This has already come out!

It lasted 3 days!

I tell you....Dental care is not what it was!

alison999

I feel really sorry for your dentist!

boozercruiser

Well alison, thank you for your kind remarks. I think!

Also, I suppose it makes a change from feeling sorry for the patient :rotfl:

alison999 wrote: »

I feel really sorry for your dentist!

welshdent

this forum is indeed meant to save people money but by fair means not foul. Finding vouchers, being made aware of hidden legal loop holes. We have tried to explain when a person is entitled to an nhs scale and polish. We have also tried to explain when you ARENT. Your attitude seems to be that you are going to ignore everyone that doesnt tell you what you want to hear. Most on here will be the first to point out when someone is being wrongly denied justified care. They will even point out how one may spot where they are being denied. You can argue as much as you like about how they were or were not provided before the new contract. It isnt relevant. The system is totally different. You are also sounding rather paranoid about an idea there is some big conspiracy. Dental practices are all private businesses that are subject to ever increasing financial costs on various un neccessary government dictats. Within this they need to make ends meet on a cash limited budget from the NHS when they agree to carry out work on the health service. Sure there are rogues just as there are in all lines of work. Asking you to pay privately for a cosmetic clean and polish on demand not need does NOT make them in to con artists.
IF the lost filling is the same filling then it is guaranteed for 12 months there fore would be replaced for free ... unless more of the tooth is broken and you need a crown. It would then be £177 on the nhs in wales.