Dentist services

xlickle_cutiex

Hiya everyone
Not sure if anyone can help the thing is i went to the dentist a few weeks ago after being refered to them from my own dentist (they are all part of the same company) and had an xray. Obviously i had alreayd paif my £17.50 at my first appointment at my own nhs dentist. After the xray i went back to the main recpetion and was given my perscription and i was told there was nothing to pay. Now the dentist are sending me letters every few weeks telling them i owe them money, even though i was told i did not and i was alloud to leave the premises.
What rights have i got about arguin this case?

Thanks for any help

sinizterguy

If referred to a different dentist, usually for a specialist service, there may or not be a fee to be paid and this is regardless of whether it is the same company or not. I can't determine this from your post - it doesn't have enough information as to why you were sent to another dentist.

They are not likely to chase you for the £17, except send more letters. But they are almost certainly not going to be providing you any further service, routine or urgent, while they think you owe them the money - you will effectively be deregistered from their list.

The only way to find out for sure why the money is owed would be to pop in and find out why they think you owe them money, while you don't think you owe them anything.

arcon5

Whats the bill for?

xlickle_cutiex

I was referred as my own dentist doesn’t have the facilities to do x-rays and their branch in another town does.

Thanks

brook2jack

There shouldn't be a fee as treatment under referral is covered by the fee you paid to the first dentist , however this has to be entered as a referral on their computer system and it's an easy box to miss ticking. Ring up and explain otherwise as said before they won't see you with an "unpaid debt" on your file.

sinizterguy

xlickle_cutiex wrote: »

I was referred as my own dentist doesn’t have the facilities to do x-rays and their branch in another town does.

Thanks

Sounds like there shouldn't have been another charge made.

As advised by poster above, they must have missed the fact that it was an internal referral rather than a new visit.

brook2jack

It doesn't matter whether it was an internal referral or not. If one nhs dentist refers you to another for a nhs service eg an xray , the first dentist collects the fee for eg the check up and since this band includes x rays no further fee is payable at the dentist who was referred to whether they are in the same company or not.

sinizterguy

brook2jack wrote: »

It doesn't matter whether it was an internal referral or not. If one nhs dentist refers you to another for a nhs service eg an xray , the first dentist collects the fee for eg the check up and since this band includes x rays no further fee is payable at the dentist who was referred to whether they are in the same company or not.

If it was for sedation a fee may be payable, as treatment under sedation may be provided as a completely new course of treatment.

[URL="http://www.suffolkextranet.nhs.uk/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Y_P4QIGdFuQ=&tabid=1930&mid=4513]"]http://www.suffolkextranet.nhs.uk/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Y_P4QIGdFuQ=&tabid=1930&mid=4513[/URL]

agrinnall

sinizterguy wrote: »

If it was for sedation a fee may be payable, as treatment under sedation may be provided as a completely new course of treatment.

[URL="http://www.suffolkextranet.nhs.uk/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Y_P4QIGdFuQ=&tabid=1930&mid=4513]"]http://www.suffolkextranet.nhs.uk/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Y_P4QIGdFuQ=&tabid=1930&mid=4513[/URL]

You'd have to be a pretty nervous type to need to be sedated just to have an x-ray done. The OP didn't mention it so I'd imagine this is a red herring. Mind you, I haven't been able to see a NHS dentist for many years so I don't know what they charge for these days, with a private dentist there is no way £17.50 would cover the cost of an x-ray.

McKneff

The OP really needs to say what the 2nd fee is for

Could it be for the prescription, these are not covered under NHS i was shocked to learn quite a long time ago.

You pay private fee just for the writing it out as well as paying for it at the chemist.
(or at least it used to be)

brook2jack

No , prescriptions are covered on the nhs. There is actually no charge for a nhs prescription to be written by a dentist working on the nhs. However if it is a private dentist they cannot write out a nhs prescription so they can only write out a private prescription for which there may be a charge, and then there is a seperate chemist charge for the private prescription to be filled out.