COVID19 DENTIST CHARGING FOR PPE

epm-84

poppy12345 said:

My hair salon is charging a few pounds for PPE, with a reduction if you use your own mask.

The person who cuts your hair may be one of the worst affected by COVID-19.  Hairdressers get lower pay than other roles and many work on a freelance/self-employed basis so if the number of appointments are reduced that affects their take home pay, not just the hair salon's profits.

dunstonh

Its a little unfair that we suffer from reduced salaries through furlough, a noticeable increase in the cost of living,  and now this.  The dentists know the majority of us wont miss a visit  and will just take it on the chin.

And dont you think it is "unfair" that the dentist and assistants/workers are also suffering from reduced income and an increased cost of living and cost of doing business and you want them to suffer more by providing services at a loss?

adamp87

epm-84 said:

Thrugelmir said:

Beverleybee said:

Its a little unfair that we suffer from reduced salaries through furlough, a noticeable increase in the cost of living,  and now this.  The dentists know the majority of us wont miss a visit  and will just take it on the chin.

Are you suggesting that dentists should subsidise their patients? 

A lot of dentists are private (not NHS) who charge around £20 more for an appointment than they get on the NHS.  You'd think given they effectively get a £20 per appointment top up by opting out of the NHS system that they could absorb the price of PPE, especially given they usually have masks and gloves available for dentists and dental nurses anyway, while face shields are reusable.

That’s not how a business works...

Most likely they are having to use more PPE than normal & are probably being charged a heftier price for it too. Yes it’s an added expense but I think it’s easily justifiable if they advise you beforehand.

epm-84

adamp87 said:

epm-84 said:

Thrugelmir said:

Beverleybee said:

Its a little unfair that we suffer from reduced salaries through furlough, a noticeable increase in the cost of living,  and now this.  The dentists know the majority of us wont miss a visit  and will just take it on the chin.

Are you suggesting that dentists should subsidise their patients? 

A lot of dentists are private (not NHS) who charge around £20 more for an appointment than they get on the NHS.  You'd think given they effectively get a £20 per appointment top up by opting out of the NHS system that they could absorb the price of PPE, especially given they usually have masks and gloves available for dentists and dental nurses anyway, while face shields are reusable.

That’s not how a business works...

Most likely they are having to use more PPE than normal & are probably being charged a heftier price for it too. Yes it’s an added expense but I think it’s easily justifiable if they advise you beforehand.

Don't forget some people were in the middle of treatment when COVID-19 forced the closure of dental surgeries.  Imagine if a builder quoted you £200 for a 2 day job and then after doing 1 day's work said the price would be £220 due to a change in regulations - you'd tell everyone else to stay clear of them!

brook2jack2

In order to comply with covid precautions dentists have to take several steps
Enhanced PPE including masks that need fit testing by qualified fit testers and are much more substantial than ordinary masks. In addition ordinary PPE has massively increased in price eg a box of ordinary masks have increased from £3 a box to £25 a box , or from some suppliers £80 a box. Clinical waste costs around £5 a small bag to dispose of and the amount of waste has massively increased. 

Dentists were not eligible for a lot of financial help, they got less help than betting shops. 

Spacing of patients so no waiting rooms are used and patients do not cross over in the practice. 

Finally the most expensive problem is that for every aerosol generating procedure eg drilling , the room has to be left afterwards for an hour before disinfection can start. That means each dentist has to have two surgery rooms to use instead of one. A room in a surgery costs from £120 to over £200 an hour to run.
If a dentist sees 25 patients a day normally they can now only see 4 to 6 patients a day. 

The expenses are much,much more than pre covid , the number of patients a dentist can see much ,much less. Already one large chain of dentists has gone bust alongside many individual dentists , more will go bust soon as this covid style precautions that dentists legally must comply with make dental practice finanancially unsustainable. 

A covid PPE charge does not really touch the surface of how much loss the practice is making on providing dental treatment. 

NeilCr

silvercar said:

Seems very high. Does that include follow on appointments? 
I wonder what happens with NHS patients where the charges are fixed.

I am a NHS patient and my practice said they are not charging for PPE for NHS treatment

holly1991

If the dentist/hairdressers are charging for Ppe It’s not normally to line their own pockets! As a hairdresser there has been a lot of changes for us , personally at the moment I am not charging extra for the Ppe but doesn’t mean that I will be able to afford to do that forever... my friend is a dental nurse.. their not wearing the normal masks their having to be fitted specifically for thats member of staff plus they are only taking 1 appointment an hour to sterilise the treatment room , same in the salon we can’t physically do the same amount of clients a day as before covid, these choices haven’t been taken lightly and if your not willing to pay then I’ve got a bloody long wait til all this is over!  

sillyvixen

Prices will rise in all sectors due to ppe costs, my dad had his car serviced and mot test last week, he was amused to see a charge of £3.95 on his invoice for ppe. Even car mechanics have to wear protection as they need to acces the inside of the car and need to work close to other mechanics. 

superbigal

It will likely not be related to PPE.   More likely to downtime when the surgery cannot be used after the private treatment.  Fallow time is currently up to 1 hour.   I know of some corporates charging a few quid for the PPE and this larger amount for Fallow.

nannyto2

Being charged at all is ridiculous. It does not cost that much for a good reuseable mask and some cleaning products. Just another excuse for businesses and rich folk to rip other people off. Neither my dentist nor my hairdresser has charged me ANYTHING extra. neither has my husbands barber. So don't know what kind of dentists and barbers you guys re going to, but as they always say, vote with your wallet and brain, and move permanently to another barber/hairdresser/dentist that has morals not to rip their customers off during a global emergency! Disgusting behaviour.