Pay Award 'fails To Recognise' Challenges Facing Dentistry, UK

Main Category: Dentistry
Article Date: 14 Apr 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Representatives of community and hospital dentists have given a mixed reception to the news that they are to be awarded a 2.2 per cent pay increase for 2008/09. The news comes following the Government's confirmation that they have accepted the proposals of the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body in full this year. Dental academics are expected to be given an equivalent award.

Keith Altman, Chair of the BDA's Central Committee for Hospital Dental Services, said:

"The last 12 months have been a time of significant challenges for hospital dentists. Junior medical colleagues have struggled to make sense of MTAS, while the difficulties in recruiting for senior posts suggests older colleagues are also under strain. This award fails to recognise the pressure hospital dentists are under and the hard work and dedication with which they apply themselves."

Professor Damien Walmsley, Vice Chair of the BDA's Central Committee for Dental Academic Services, is also critical:

"The increase in the number of training places for dental students at new and existing dental schools across the UK means that the already inadequate number of dental academics is being stretched even further. If the challenges of training this enlarged cohort are to be met, more young dentists need to be encouraged to consider a career in academia. This award, if applied to dental academics as expected, fails to recognise the real plight of dental academia and provide that encouragement."

Janet Clarke, Chair of the BDA's Central Committee for Community and Public Health Dentistry, said:

"Salaried primary care dentists in England have seen new contractual arrangements introduced this year. The deal, negotiated by the BDA on their behalf, has been well received. This announcement will not be. Salaried primary care dentists are still facing significant problems, with increased numbers of referrals from primary care imposing increased demands and problems recruiting staff making them harder to tackle. This award offered a chance to recognise those problems and start to address them. That chance has been missed."

The BDA has welcomed the DDRB's call for the new contractual arrangements for those working in salaried primary dental care to be implemented in the devolved countries as a priority.

Notes

1. Full details of the DDRB's recommendations can be accessed here.

2. The BDA's evidence to the DDRB can be accessed here.

3. The British Dental Association (BDA) is the professional association for dentists in the UK. It represents over 20,000 dentists working in general practice, in community and hospital settings, in academia and research, and in the armed forces.

British Dental Association