Pay in advance for nhs dental check up

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Ewandor
Ewandor Posts: 1 Newbie
in Health & beauty MoneySaving
Hello all... I've just booked an NHS check up at my NHS dentist... they wanted payment up front before I got an appointment... some 5 weeks away.
Is this normal practice now? Is it even allowed?
I haven't missed any previous appointments so it's not a punishment of any sort...
Thanks in anticipation
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  • brook2jack
    brook2jack Posts: 4,563 Forumite
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    Yes the dentist is entitled to ask for payment for any NHS treatment in advance.

    Unfortunately since 2006 NHS dentists in England and Wales cannot charge for missed appointments , as a result failure rates have shot up.

    The surgery not only doesn't get paid if a patient doesn't turn up but if they don't hit their treatment target may have to pay money back to the NHS with the result it becomes financially unviable to carry on.

    Many practices will now ask for all payments to be made in advance to try to ensure people turn up. Eg 40% of all new patients dental appointments were missed in one area near me.

    People failing to come to appointments is becoming an increasing problem.
  • Tigsteroonie
    Tigsteroonie Posts: 24,954 Forumite
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    In which case I'll think myself lucky that our surgery has only switched to asking us to pay on arrival rather than on departure as previously.
    :heartpuls Mrs Marleyboy :heartpuls

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  • brook2jack
    brook2jack Posts: 4,563 Forumite
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    Bad debts can also be a problem affecting a Dental practices viability. It's surprising the number of people who come to dental appointments without money to pay for their treatment.
    It also means that if a person is eligible for free treatment the correct boxes are ticked on their forms in the surgery.
  • Undervalued
    Undervalued Posts: 8,870 Forumite
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    edited 24 October 2018 at 2:17PM
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    brook2jack wrote: »
    Yes the dentist is entitled to ask for payment for any NHS treatment in advance.

    Unfortunately since 2006 NHS dentists in England and Wales cannot charge for missed appointments , as a result failure rates have shot up.

    So presumably if the patient who has paid in advance fails to turn up they are entitled to a refund?

    If so, what does charging in advance achieve?

    Edit - just spotted your second post....
    It's surprising the number of people who come to dental appointments without money to pay for their treatment.

    OK, clearly it would prevent this problem but can the dentist legally hold on to the money if the patient doesn't turn up?

    I'm not defending the "no shows", just checking the facts!
  • brook2jack
    brook2jack Posts: 4,563 Forumite
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    The dentist cannot hold onto the money unless, of course , you book another check up .

    If you do fail the appointment you may very well find that they will refuse to see you again.
  • Undervalued
    Undervalued Posts: 8,870 Forumite
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    brook2jack wrote: »
    The dentist cannot hold onto the money unless, of course , you book another check up .

    If you do fail the appointment you may very well find that they will refuse to see you again.

    So what you are saying is that if somebody books a NHS checkup, pays in advance at the dentist's insistence then fails to turn up they can insist on a full refund?

    So, apart from the dealing with the issue of those that turn up for treatment with an empty pocket it achieves nothing?

    I sympathise but it is all a bit of a shambles!

    Most NHS GP's will secretly admit that they rely on a few "no shows" because most appointment take longer than the allocated 10 mins. Obviously though it is random and several non arrivals in a row does create a waste of time. Although presumably they have plenty of paperwork they can catch up on.

    I would imagine it is worse for dentists with an assistant also being idle and probably less other useful work to fill in the time?
  • moneyistooshorttomention
    moneyistooshorttomention Posts: 17,940 Forumite
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    On the other hand - the whole idea of paying in advance would seem to preclude the patient discussing various treatment options with the dentist at the time they are with the dentist. Followed by the patient making their decision as to which option and telling the dentist that that's the one it will be???

    I can see an advantage to the fact I've got a private dentist then - particularly as I'm from somewhere where we are used to making our own decisions for ourselves.:cool:
  • humptydumptybits
    humptydumptybits Posts: 2,992 Forumite
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    money they didn't say you paid for treatment upfront, it was for a check up and presumably you need to have the check up for the dentist to be able to discuss treatment with you.


    I don't think it is just a question of you telling the dentist what will happen, they are a professional and might not agree to what you want e.g. if they don't think it will work.
  • brook2jack
    brook2jack Posts: 4,563 Forumite
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    GPS are paid very differently to dentists. Part of their payment is calculated on list size , so if a patient doesn't turn up they still get paid. They also have many of their staff and other expenses paid separately on top .

    A dentist is purely paid for the work they do , so if a patient doesn't turn up the dentist still has to pay for all their expenses , staff costs etc and is not paid anything. The treatment costs pay for everything , in addition dentists have targets they have to hit and if they don't hit them they have to pay money back to the NHS.

    Patients paying in advance cuts the failure to attend rates and stops bad debts building up which can be a practice killer.
  • pollypenny
    pollypenny Posts: 29,394 Forumite
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    I'd have no objection to paying in advance for a check up appointment. I wouldn't expect a refund if I failed to turn up, either.

    Presumably, the dentist and dental nurse would be twiddling their thumbs waiting.
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