Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The private health service

Dentists are forcing 500,000 patients a year to pay for expensive private treatments by failing to tell them they are available on the NHS. The 18-month long inquiry, published today, finds patients are being “deliberately misled” and made to pay up to four times more for basic treatments such as fillings and crowns than they would on the NHS. The Office of Fair Trading, which enforces competition law, warns that in some cases the high cost of going private is discouraging patients from having necessary treatments, putting their health at risk.

Under NHS regulations, dentists must offer basic treatment on the health service and can only charge extra for cosmetics such as veneers and white fillings. A survey by the OFT, however, finds patients are routinely being told to pay for bridges, crowns, root canal treatment, silver fillings, dentures, extractions, check-ups and X-rays despite this work being covered by the NHS. A root canal treatment costs £48 per tooth on the NHS but up to £475 for private treatment, while a small filling costs £48 on the NHS but £80 for private treatment.

The report says: “As a result, such patients are likely to incur financial detriment, where they choose to have private dental treatment instead of NHS dental treatment, or may suffer harm to their oral health where they choose to forgo the dental treatment altogether or to opt for a less beneficial course of dental treatment.” Despite the routine breaches of NHS regulations, the OFT says regulators such as the General Dental Council and Primary Care Trust have taken little action. "... the GDC appears to have a notable and concerning low enforcement track record of pursuing instances of breaches, and so deterring future misconduct.”

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “It is an outrage that, because the focus has been on other aspects of the health and social care system, dentists have been able to get away with unacceptable practice. This must change, and the needs of patients must be put first.”

The wide-ranging report also criticises dentists for:

- The lack of information available on the potential cost of treatment, despite rules saying NHS charges should be displayed.
- Pressuring patients into buying expensive dental payment plans.
- Stopping patients from seeing hygeinists or technicians without referrals from dentists.
- Poor NHS contracts that mean it is difficult for new dentists to set up and successful ones to expand, meaning there is little competition.
- A complicated and time consuming complaints procedure.

Dentistry in Britain is worth £5.73 billion a year, with around 29,500 dentists practising.

 Source

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