Dental survey that cost £37,000 receives one response
A survey to show the finances of Scottish dentists cost almost £40,000, and only one dental practice responded.
The survey was commissioned after plans to reform the profession in Scotland revealed “serious misgivings” about figures currently available on the earnings and expenses of dentists who work for the NHS. However, the attempt to extract information from a sample of dentists resulted in one completed form.
Now the Scottish government are planning to make supplying the required data mandatory as part of the contract independent dentists have with the health service.
Margie Taylor, chief dental officer for Scotland, said the organisation which recommends pay rises for medical and dental staff – the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration Body (DDRB) – did not feel that they had enough information about “the costs of running a practice”.
As a result, the Scottish Government commissioned an independent financial consultant to gather the detail at a cost of £36,900.
The problem of a lack of information came to light in the Scottish Government’s new plan for oral healthcare, which has been circulated for consultation.
It says: “In recent years, the independent pay review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB), has expressed serious misgivings with the robustness of data available on earnings and expenses of independent contractors providing GDS in Scotland.”
The document goes on to describe the commissioned survey as meeting with “limited success” and suggests “provision of earnings and expenses information should be a terms of service requirement.”
The British Dental Association (BDA) has previously committed to engaging in the process of improving information and has encouraged its members and the whole profession to do likewise.
