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Is NHS Dentistry effectively dead..?
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MoneySavingExpert
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There is a major issue with standard operating protocols which reduce day to day capacity by a half to 2 thirds which really makes it difficult to get people in. There is no additional NHS funding to pay for staff outside the previously contracted hours so its either wait or see someone privately right now.
All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert
Unfortunately dental teams have got used to being thought of as machines not human beings and this has, no doubt, led to the massive increase in mental and physical health problems, early retirements etc during and after the pandemic.
I don't doubt that there are many problems with the NHS funding system but that is not in the patient's control and is not their problem.
Are you saying that if you had paid a self employed tradesman up front for some work that had not been completed when he sadly died, you wouldn't try and recover the money from his estate? Any other creditor, including the state (if any benefits or pension he may have been receiving had been paid beyond the date of his death) would seek to recover the money so why should the client / patient be any different.
If the patient / client wants to be charitable that is up to them but they should not be criticised for insisting on what is rightfully theirs.
What about a private dentist who had been paid up front for a course of treatment that had not been completed if the same were to have happened. You expect the patient, who may well earn far less than the dentist, to subsidise his widow?
The water is a little muddy on NHS fees though, as these are owed and paid to the Government, not the dentist personally. The dentist is paid in a way that is independent of what actual NHS fees he collects.
1. Get recommendations from friends/family/neighbours/etc.
2. Once you have a short-list, VISIT the practices - dont just phone. Go on the pretext of getting a Practice Leaflet.
3. Assess the helpfulness of the staff and the level of the facilities.
4. Only book initial appointment when you find a place you are happy with.
I have to say I was a bit taken aback by Brook's reply.
From the patient's point of view, they have paid c. £260 for an agreed course of treatment which cannot (through no fault of their own) be completed. I can understand them being outraged at being told "tough, you will have to pay the whole fee again just to get the last bit finished off".
If this was private dentistry (or indeed any other service) there would certainly be a valid claim against the estate. If, due to the oddities of the NHS different rules apply then I think it is appalling and should be challenged in court.
Yes, to those that understand the costs of running a professional practice, the NHS fees are sometimes a fraction of the true costs of providing the treatment. However to somebody earning a modest wage, just above the eligibility for free dental treatment £260 let alone £520 is a lot of money.
Very easy to say "but to be honest I am astonished that anyone would even suggest that after a presumably sudden death" when you are earning £100K plus a year from your private dental practice. Not so easy if you earn the NMW flipping burgers in McDonalds!
In particular this is NHS treatment in a NHS practice which has had to close because of the death of the dentist. The practice will have to pay back all funding that has been underperformed . The treatment is part way through , the practice has no dentist and no contract , it is the health board who are responsible for finding a dentist to continue treatment . Due to extreme pressures on the system they have been unable to do this. The practice has carried out part of treatment and , as we know , you pay the same for one filling or five , so the patient is not due a refund .
I still remain appalled by the suggestion of claiming from the estate. Perhaps because I have seen the utter devastation caused by a dentists sudden death , other dentists wanted to keep the practice going but on the death of the dentist the contract was lost and had to go back out to tender. The practice never reopened.
It was a young dentist with a massive mortgage on the property , selling the building and equipment did not cover the mortgage because the good will had been lost and the equipment only raised a fraction of what it cost.
Most of the life insurance etc he had went to pay off bills.
His widow and children live even more modestly now than they did after a couple of years of hell sorting out the mess.
I , and most dentists I know, have never claimed from a patients estate we are aware of how hard it is on a family. I would hope that most feeling human beings would extend that empathy to a dentist.
Everything else you list is completely outside the patient's control. Yes, the system may be far from ideal but it is entirely up to the dentist whether they work in the NHS system or not. They could choose to be mainly or entirely private as I think you have said is your choice. What they can't do is take part in the NHS system then bend the rules because they don't agree with them.
Realistically it would cost very little to have insurance to protect patients in, statistically, the very unlikely event of the dentist dying or being otherwise unable to complete the work. Surely any professional practice should do that?
I wonder what would happen if the patient had paid up front by credit card so had Section 75 protection. Presumably the card company would have to reimburse them and recover the money from the estate if they chose.