NHS CHARGES

The NHS Dental Contract incurs an initial adult patient charge of £23.80 for urgent treatment in general practice and £282.80 for more complex dental treatment. Unsurprisingly some patients are confused and assume the fees are for private treatment.Prescription charges are set at £9.35 per Item.

The cornucopia of dental treatment that the dentist is expected to provide for uneconomic fees makes the provision of long lasting restorative care virtually impossible. The NHS Scale of Fees has never taken into account the vastly different overhead costs in running dental practices in different parts of the Country leading a post code lottery under an NHS Contract. Indeed, the same patients treated in private practice would ususally have to undergo a programme of dental hygiene and preventive care before carrying out any restorative treatment.

A healthcare Survey of residents living in the Republic of Ireland, where patient charges are widespread, recorded a satisfaction rate of more than 90% (9). The Irish model is instructive, with patient charges for GP services of c £50 per visit and a Hospital visit without a GP referral incurring a cost of c £80. The principal of patient charges for medical (including dental) care in the Irish Republic is well established. Free Medical Cards are issued for low-income families and exemptions exist for the treatment of certain medical/dental conditions. Tax relief is allowed on the costs of private treatment.

Competitive dental services provided by the NHS are as a result scarce today in the UK and many thousands of children who have failed to receive routine dental care now require hospital admission for the relief of their dental pain . The mental scars often remain as nightmares into later life.