Legal News

Undercover research by consumer group Which? and watchdog Healthwatch England has found that some dentists are wrongly claiming to offer NHS treatment and then telling patients they cannot have an NHS appointment for weeks.

Which? reporters went undercover, the Daily Mail reports, and found a culture of dentists blocking NHS care so they could charge privately, as well as illegally charging patients deposits when they made appointments.

Some researchers also found that dentists were failing to fill teeth and instead removing them to save on costs – extracting teeth is cheaper than maintaining the tooth with fillings.

Patients also reported they were being bullied into having expensive hygienist appointments.

Researchers also found that one-third of dental surgeries offering NHS care told patients they would have to wait up to two weeks for an NHS appointment.

Patients were also asked by some receptionists to pay a deposit to secure and appointment – a practice which is illegal.

Which? reporters visited 500 dental surgeries claiming to offer NHS treatment for the survey. However, three out of ten NHS surgeries told undercover reporters there were no NHS appointments available. Even patients in pain would be required to wait two weeks for an NHS appointments, the reporters found – and one patients had to wait eight months to be seen by a dentist under the NHS, the reporters discovered.

Executive director of Which? Richard Lloyd 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.”

Chair of Healthwatch England, Anne Bradley said that getting to see an NHS dentist was now harder than getting to see a GP.

“Our own mystery shopping has revealed that in some areas just a fifth of surgeries are accepting new NHS patients – we have heard reports of people having to travel up to 40 miles,” she said.

“Patients have reported feeling they have to have costly private treatments such as hygienist appointments to avoid being struck off the books.

“In some cases, patients fear that dentists are performing more basic treatments on the NHS, like tooth extractions, rather than doing more costly fillings.”

Healthwatch England also suspects that surgeries are trying to deter NHS patients by making them complete a raft of registration forms to access NHS dental services.

In 2006, a new NHS payments schedule was introduced, meaning that dentists in England and Wales are paid according to the number of 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.

“For far too, long oral health has been left out of the health debate – and this new evidence provides fresh impetus for government to reassess its agenda.”

Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors – No win no fee Dental Negligence Claims

Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors can advise NHS dental patients and private dental patients who have suffered injury or unnecessary pain as a result of dental negligence on how to make a no win no fee claim for compensation.

Personal injury claims have to be made within three years of injury – and children can claim dental negligence compensation up to the age of 21.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Dental Negligence Claims, call Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.