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BDA critical of pay review
5th Mar 2007
The BDA's Susie Sanderson has spoken out against the DDRB recommendations
The British Dental Association (BDA) has expressed its disappointment after the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body (DDRB) recommended an annual rise to high-street dentists’ gross earnings of just three per cent for 2007/08. High-street dentists will be awarded a 2.765 per cent gross increase from 1 April, with the remaining 0.235 per cent applying from 1 November onwards. Salaried dentists will have their increases staggered with incremental rises on 1 April and 1 November. BDA executive board chair Susie Sanderson said: ‘Anyone who cares about dentistry will be appalled by this announcement. This last year has been the most turbulent in the history of NHS dentistry and this will do nothing to stabilise the situation. Who can blame dentists and the public for doubting the government’s commitment to the future of NHS dentistry? ‘The token increase for salaried dentists will mean that those who care for the most vulnerable group of patients will continue to feel disillusioned and undervalued.’ Hospital dentists, meanwhile, have been awarded a fixed gross pay increase of just £1,000 per annum. Keith Altman, chair of the BDA’s Central Committee for Hospital Dental Services (CCHDS), said: ‘The DDRB has wasted an opportunity to address the significant concerns of hospital dentists. This award fails to recognise both the hard work of highly-trained specialists and the increasing pressures they are under. ‘The phasing of the award in two increments for the lowest paid hospital dentists adds insult to injury.’ Ross Hobson, chair of the BDA’s Central Committee for Dental Academic Services, also criticised the news, adding: ‘This announcement is particularly disappointing for dental academics. Given that the DDRB has recognised the importance of ensuring that there are sufficient incentives for dentists to enter careers in academia, it would be ridiculous if those currently in this field are given such an award. ‘The opening of two new dental schools and increases to the number of dental students being trained by the existing dental schools place increasing pressure on the already inadequate number of dental academics. This award will do nothing to address that shortage.’ Chief executive officer of the Dental Practitioners’ Association, Derek Watson, said of the recommendation: ‘It is not possible to provide a quality service on the NHS at one third of the market cost. Dentistry is a good example of how a service was provided efficiently on behalf of the NHS in the private sector and since being ‘nationalised’ has turned into a complete disaster area. ‘DPA members who wish to take on more NHS patients are running into PCT funding buffers. Dentists who would see more NHS patients are being denied funding and now their wages are being cut. We are starting to see all the problems of the NHS in dentistry such as funding crises, waiting lists and postcode lotteries. These factors do not affect dentists in the private sector.’
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