DT News - UK - BDA Wales criticises below-inflation pay rise for dentists

Dental Tribune UK

Tue. 2 October 2018

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CARDIFF, UK: The British Dental Association (BDA) Wales has criticised a pay increase for Welsh dentists that is below current inflation rates in the UK. It stated that austerity pay and the Welsh government’s refusal to let go of a system of rigid targets are leaving the very future of dentistry in doubt.

The pay raise, which is backdated to 1 April 2018, is based on recommendations provided by the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration. Announced on 25 September by the Welsh government’s health secretary Vaughan Gething, the 2 per cent base increase for salaried dentists is outpaced by the 2.4 per cent inflation rate (according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics).

“The Welsh Government’s below-inflation pay deal is another pay cut in all but name,” said Tom Bysouth, Chair of the BDA’s Welsh General Dental Practice Committee.

“Morale in the dental profession is at an all-time low, thanks to a failed contract and real-terms pay squeeze without parallel in the UK public sector. It’s bad news for patients that ministers remain so wedded to a system that actively penalises prevention, and a pay policy that undermines the very sustainability of NHS services,” he continued.

Dentists in Wales currently earn 30 per cent less than their counterparts in England. However, recent data published by NHS Digital shows that dental practitioners in England and Wales have experienced overall reductions in real income of up to 35 per cent over the last decade. In addition, this data shows that morale in dentistry has fallen to its lowest level since 2000, with more than half of all UK-based dentists considering leaving the profession.

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