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LDC group to lobby
25th Nov 2005
The Federation of London Local Dental Committees is to lobby the Government with a list of concerns connected to the impending April 2006 contract on November 29. Nick Patsias, vice chairman of the Federation said; ‘The contract seems to be written deliberately to drive us out of the health service, and it’s very hard to see how they could have made it any worse or done it any more effectively.’ Areas of concern include access problems for children, restricted criteria for children’s orthodontic treatment, and increasing the treadmill that the Government believes the new contract eradicates. Said Patsias: ‘Our job is to achieve a better lot for dentists and the patients, and we want a good enough arrangement in place for those who choose to stay with the NHS.’ Asked whether there was anything good for dentists in the contract, Patsias said: ‘The only decent clause is transferring the out-of-hours provision to the PCTs.’ On the issue of not charging for failed appointments or those cancelled at short notice, Patsias said; ‘Last month we lost 60 hours of failed appointments in a six-surgery practice – that 60 hours could double or even triple, and there is no provision in our new budgets that allow for this loss.’ Changes to de-registering patients are also unwelcome. ‘The only patients we can refuse to treat are those who are violent – it’s just another loss of freedom.’ Besides this, the new contract does not achieve the two stated aims that the minister promised it would offer, added Patsias. ‘It was supposed to take dentists off the treadmill and improve service for patients but it does neither. It’s a heads they win, tails we lose situation – they want to have their cake and eat it throughout.’ As for stories of high-earning dentists, Patsias said; ‘If we do the same amount of work as now, we will earn the same money, but if we do twice the amount of work we won’t earn any more – after the three years is up, dentists will be financially slaughtered.’ Commenting on the Federation’s concerns, acting chief dental officer Barry Cockcroft said; ‘As with many of the other ill-founded criticisms of the new contractual arrangements – much of what the Federation are concerned about is not accurate. ‘We have learned from dentists who have moved into early PDS arrangements that there are significant reductions in the numbers of items of service provided within courses of treatment without any adverse effect on oral health. These reductions are on top of the basic 5% reduction in the numbers of courses of treatment.’
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