Each year we use your evidence to fight for fairer pay for associates, practice owners, community dentists (PDS in Scotland), and we call for pay parity for dental clinical academics.
We work across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and provide evidence to the Governments on your behalf.
For 2019/20 we are calling for a rise for all dental practitioners of an inflation linked award of RPI (at 3 per cent) plus two per cent.
We need NHS dentistry to grow and for that, dentists and their practices, or clinics, need more sustainable investment. We argued forcefully this year that NHS and Health Service dentistry needs to be placed on a sustainable footing if it is to continue.
Our evidence shows, that the higher the level of National Health Service commitment by dentists, the lower the levels of morale and motivation are for professionals.
This year we gave specific evidence focused on:
- General Dental Practice
- Community Dental Services (including PDS in Scotland)
- Clinical Academic Staff
We submitted detailed evidence to the pay review body (the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration) on 7 January 2019.
Current and previous recommendations and evidence: Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists'.
We are due to give oral evidence to the Review Body on 1st April 2019.
What happened for the 2018/19 pay uplifts?
See our full update for dentists working in different fields of practice.
Usually we expect the pay review body to report on its recommendations to Government around March/April each year.
However, because of the delay to the process in 2017 (with the general election and pre-election periods), the Governments of the UK did not make an announcement on implementing the recommendations till mid way through the financial year. In Northern Ireland, still no annoucement has been made nearly one year on.
And almost one year on from the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB) recommendations on pay we've said too many of our members are still waiting.
We continue to demand clarity on your pay.
How is dentists' pay decided?
The independent body responsible for making recommendations on pay is called the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (known as DDRB).
Each year, they are asked by the Government(s) to make a recommendation for setting levels of pay, based on evidence of recruitment/retention, morale and motivation in the profession.
In the summer each year, the Secretary to the Treasury writes to the DDRB outlining the Government's approach to pay.
To formally open the next round of evidence submissions, the Secretary of State for Health issues a letter to the DDRB, formally opening the process and outlining their remit for England, and the other UK Governments' do the same.
These remit letters advise the DDRB of the areas it wishes the them to make a recommendation on, and any special areas of consideration (i.e. how much budget is available).
The DDRB then ask all the groups and organisations affected by the process to submit evidence usually in September.
All parties submit their evidence and publish on their own websites.
The DDRB then takes oral evidence sessions from the groups and organisations, two months after written submissions are received.
NHS dental contract clawback
Where contracts in England under-deliver on their target UDAs by more than 4%, this money is clawed back by NHS England. In recent years, the amount clawed back has increased from £54.5 million in 2015/16 to £81.5 million in 2016/17 and £88.8 million in 2017/18 and in Wales £20 million has been lost from NHS dental services.
We are investigating the reasons for this, and the underlying issues with dentists fulfilling their contracts, including issues with recruitment, pressures from regulation, patient access, low UDA values, and the feasibility of working under NHS dental contracts.
We will continue to push for a reformed NHS dental contract that works for the profession and their patients.
What does the BDA do?
Each year, we gather a huge amount of evidence from all areas of the profession, including surveying associates and practice owners, community dentists and other groups, as well as using evidence from Freedom of Information Act requests and official sources of data, to help make the case for dentistry.
Read our blogs to find out what we are doing in each of the four UK countries to fight for fairer pay for dentists.
