GREEDY DENTISTS FLEECE FAMILIES
They hide prices Restrict NHS treatment Force patients to have costly work Needlessly pull teeth
DENTISTS are falsely claiming to offer NHS care and breaking rules on charges, an undercover investigation shows.
Some even appear to be taking the easy option of removing teeth rather than filling them – because they are paid the same for both treatments.
Patients also complain of being bullied into paying for costly hygienist appointments to ensure they can stay on an nHS list.
The allegations were made by the consumer group Which? and the official watchdog Healthwatch england. Which? researchers went undercover to call 500 dental surgeries that claim to accept new nHS patients.
However, three in ten told the investigators no appointments were available.
a third of dentists that did offer Health Service care warned of a wait of at least two weeks – no use to anyone in pain. In one case, the wait was at least eight months.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: ‘It’s frustratingly difficult to get an nHS appointment with a dentist as information about availability doesn’t reflect reality.
‘This is a kick in the teeth for patients and yet more evidence of poor communication. We want the Competition and Markets authority to step in and ensure that dentists put the existing rules into practice so that people can easily find out where they can get nHS dentistry.’
anna Bradley, who chairs Healthwatch england, said it was harder to see a dentist than a GP.
‘Our own mystery shopping has revealed that in some areas just a fifth of surgeries are accepting new nHS patients,’ she added. ‘We have heard reports of people having to travel up to
40 miles. Patients have reported feeling they have to have costly private treatments such as hygienist appointments to avoid being struck off.
‘In some cases patients fear that dentists are performing more basic treatments on the NHS like tooth extractions rather than doing more costly fillings.’
The watchdogs also suspect that surgeries try to deter NHS patients by confronting them with endless registration forms.
Some reception staff illegally asked patients to pay deposits and, in one case, the researcher was told the money would be lost if they did not turn up.
Previous Which? research found that half of dentists break the rules by failing to display fees or make clear whether work is being done under the NHS, which caps prices. Patients often do not know what they will be charged until they see the bill.
This can be a major issue when a filling can cost anything from £40 to £190, and a crown £350 to £1,100. Which? said the situation was serious because patients were avoiding essential check-ups and treatment.
It wants dentists to display prices prominently and give patients clear treatment plans, both verbally and in writing.
The areas with the biggest difficulties in getting an NHS appointment were South West England, Surrey, Sussex, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Which? used information on the Government’s official website, NHS Choices, to find which surgeries claimed to offer NHS care. Dentists insist the problems reflect the NHS payments schedule. Introduced in 2006, it means dentists in England and Wales are paid according to how many units of dental activity – UDAs – they undertake.
Mick Armstrong of the British Dental Association said: ‘These arbitrary targets have proved a real obstacle for new NHS patients. Many dentists would like to see more patients, but this is impossible within rigid contracts.’
‘Arbitrary
targets’