DT News - UK - Government increases NHS charges amid criticism from dentists

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 16 March 2018

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LONDON, UK: From April on, patients visiting an NHS dentist will have to pay more for their treatment. According to the government, charges for all types of services will increase by an average of 5 per cent in the upcoming fiscal year.

Fees for Band 1 treatments will rise from currently £20.60 to £21.60, while Band 2 treatments will see a hike of £59.10. Band 3 courses of treatment will cost £256.50 instead of previously £244.30.

Those who qualify for free dental treatment will remain exempt from charges, the Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement. It further stated that the increase is intended to protect the most vulnerable and help balance the costs paid by patients and those met by the NHS through the contributions of taxpayers.

“If this uplift was not implemented resource savings from other parts of the NHS would need to be generated to make up the shortfall,” commented Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care Steve Brine on the measure.

The increase is another step up from last year’s changes, which saw fees rising by 4.5 per cent. Overall, the latest adjustment is estimated to provide additional funds of more than £72 million over the next year, according to the government.

Dental experts however have criticised the increase for being a cover-up of the decline in government spending on dental services. Reacting to the announcement, the British Dental Association (BDA) said that charges already make up almost a third of the NHS budget and are estimated to exceed government spending by as early as 2032. This, the organisation said, already discourages patients from seeing a dentist or forces them to use other providers like general practitioners or accident and emergency departments, which are free.

“Cost is a huge barrier to many patients on moderate incomes,” said the Chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee, Dr Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen. “The result is patients bottling up problems and requiring more extensive treatment, which hurts their health and costs the NHS millions.”

According to the latest surveys, nearly one in five patients delayed dental treatment for reasons of cost in 2017.

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