British Dental Association Disappointed At Refusal On Clawback Amnesty

Main Category: Dentistry
Article Date: 03 Sep 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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The British Dental Association has expressed its disappointment that the Department of Health will not consider waiving financial clawback for dentists who have not reached their contract targets. Last week the BDA requested an amnesty for dentists who had completed a significant amount, but not all, of their units of dental activity for 2006/07.

In a letter to Dr Lester Ellman, Chair of the BDA's General Dental Practice Committee, Chief Dental Officer Dr Barry Cockcroft says the majority of dentists have met their requirements and that the decision as to whether or not to clawback funding in cases of significant underperformance is a matter for PCTs, not the Department.

Reacting to the decision, Dr Ellman said:

"This is obviously disappointing news for dentists. We know of some extremely worrying cases where dentists fear clawback and are anxious about what this will mean for the viability of their practice.

"This is a missed opportunity to win back some confidence from the profession. The BDA will continue to support our members in addressing their many concerns."

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.

http://www.bda.org

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