Dental Services: Protective Clothing
(asked on 18th May 2020) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will increase the tariff for dentists to allow them to meet the increased costs of personal protective equipment.
The Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body (DDRB) is responsible for recommendations on doctors’ and dentists’ remuneration, both the pay element and, for those working as independent contractors, expenses. It would be for the DDRB to consider expenses created by the additional personal protective equipment (PPE) required due to COVID-19. DDRB recommendations apply to dentists’ National Health Service remuneration. Any private earnings and costs are a matter for the individual dentist.
Urgent face to face treatment has been delivered through more than 550 urgent care centres to patients during the Covid crisis.
NHS England and NHS Improvement announced on 28 May that NHS dental practices will be able to begin to see patients again, outside of urgent care centres, from 8 June, with the aim of increasing levels of service, as fast as is compatible with maximizing safety.
A copy of the letter that was published can be found at the following link: