Patients who queued for hours to get their dental care on the NHS were forced to pay for a hygienist appointment before being allowed to register, a BBC investigation has revealed.
Prospective patients said they were handed an ‘ultimatum’, which saw hundreds pay £69 to sign up, despite policies stating that a healthcare provider cannot refuse an NHS patient if they don’t want to pay for a private service.
On being made aware of the alleged agreement, chair of the British Dental Association, Eddie Crouch, said: ‘We know there are 14 million people, sadly, at the moment who want access to an NHS dentist, but those 14 million need to be supported by government, and not abused by any bad practice within our membership.’
Lodge Causeway Dental Centre, in east Bristol, held an open day on 6 September, which saw thousands of people, including pregnant women and senior patients who hadn’t been seen in years, queuing to register with an NHS dentist.
However, when they reached the front of the queue, they were told they had to pay a hefty fee for a hygienist appointment if they wanted one of the coveted places.
Alice Worthington, from south Bristol, told the BBC that she ‘didn’t actually need a hygienist appointment at all’, but because it’s ‘impossible to find an NHS dentist,’ she paid the fee.
The dental centre maintains that the appointments were simply ‘offered’ alongside a check-up and has apologised for any confusion.
Since the open day, the practice has allegedly seen 2,591 NHS patients and only offered 108 hygienist appointments, with systems set up to automatically take payment in advance.
Ms Worthington began queuing long before the practice opened its doors at 8 am and was in the line for over three hours with no mention of having to pay.
‘We got into reception, and they told us that if we wanted to register as an NHS patient, we would have to pay £70 for a hygienist appointment,’ she said.
‘I’d recently had one with the private practice that I was going to, but we were told that until we’d paid the £70, we were not going to be registered with the NHS.’
Ms Worthington added that despite being able to afford this herself, others around her became extremely distressed when they found out about the fee.
Sam Mellor, from Bedminster, likewise arrived early to secure himself a place on the list, but he was given the same ultimatum, with the opportunity to pay for the appointment at a later date.
After scheduling the appointment, he later emailed the office to express his displeasure with the requirement.
In a response seen by the BBC, the practice claimed that the hygienist appointment was ‘just an offer’.
Many, however, maintain that this was untrue.
Crouch added: ‘If (prospective patients) are being told they have to have a private hygienist appointment before having some NHS dental treatment, then I don’t think that’s correct.’
Lodegwat Causeway Dental Centre admitted that for the five per cent of patients who did not need urgent care, an offer of a hygienist appointment was made alongside a routine check-up.
It has since apologised ‘unreservedly’ for taking payments for such appointments in advance and has encouraged patients to contact them to discuss the issue.
A spokesperson for the NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board explained that whilst NHS dentists are allowed to offer hygienist appointments, patients ‘should not be obliged to pay for an appointment at the time of registering.’
As a country, we appear to have completely assimilated into the norms of Eastern Europe and other regions.
The NHS in Britain had values and trust, and its standards were among the best in the world. Unfortunately, that is now a thing of the past, and in the near future, our NHS hospitals will be the same. If you need to be seen, you won’t be seen unless you pay or have insurance, and if you don’t and you’re really sick, they will just let you die.
It’s just a racket, and dentists are the biggest rip-off. Years ago, your dentist used to do a clean and polish; now they just check your teeth and refer you to the hygienist for an added fee. It’s called exploitation, and they can exploit you as much as they want because they know you need to get your teeth checked, and now, if you don’t go regularly, they will strike you off their list.
Anyone who profits from the suffering of sick people or animals, for that matter, has no soul. Both dentists and vets should have stringent government rules regarding their charges. Have you seen the cars and homes those so-called caring professionals own, and all of the backs of people’s pain – it’s actually shameful.
It’s all about the money; nothing else matters.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 