Do these figures break down between adult and child dentistry? Here in Norfolk most dentists are continuing to do NHS work for children, but only private appointments for adults. And even then it can be hard to get registered as a new private patient.
Most push monthly dental plans hard and have expensive initial appointments, so there is little effective competition.
Is there a document or report that goes into the economics of a dental surgery? Who pays for 1) the property (rent, etc.) and utilities and 2) the capital equipment (dental care goods – X-ray machines, etc., their initial and recurring costs)? 3) Staff costs, and 4) what is the corporate form of a practice, a partnership? 5) How are profits defined and shared between staff salaries and dentist salaries? How much of the patient treatment cash flow comes from private fees/insurance payments and how much from the NHS? One can only take a view on this question if there is more transparency. Like so many public institutions, this data is not easily available, or is it without an FOI request?
Ok, but the NHS says that there are "NHS dentists" on fixed salaries; are these also part of private dental surgeries? It would be useful to get clarity on the proportion of funds from NHS payments and those from private/insurance. Most dentists' surgeries in the South West do not offer any NHS patient registrations at all. Unless the money flows are pinned down and consequent incentives (or disincentives) are discussed, this problem will not be addressed. GP surgeries are also paid for piece rate but don't charge for any service; NHS dentistry services are all charged, albeit less than the private/insurance charges: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/dental-team/roles-dental-team/dentist/pay-dentists
Do these figures break down between adult and child dentistry? Here in Norfolk most dentists are continuing to do NHS work for children, but only private appointments for adults. And even then it can be hard to get registered as a new private patient.
Most push monthly dental plans hard and have expensive initial appointments, so there is little effective competition.
Is there a document or report that goes into the economics of a dental surgery? Who pays for 1) the property (rent, etc.) and utilities and 2) the capital equipment (dental care goods – X-ray machines, etc., their initial and recurring costs)? 3) Staff costs, and 4) what is the corporate form of a practice, a partnership? 5) How are profits defined and shared between staff salaries and dentist salaries? How much of the patient treatment cash flow comes from private fees/insurance payments and how much from the NHS? One can only take a view on this question if there is more transparency. Like so many public institutions, this data is not easily available, or is it without an FOI request?
No all that is in the public domain - essentially they are private business paid a piece rate to do public work
Ok, but the NHS says that there are "NHS dentists" on fixed salaries; are these also part of private dental surgeries? It would be useful to get clarity on the proportion of funds from NHS payments and those from private/insurance. Most dentists' surgeries in the South West do not offer any NHS patient registrations at all. Unless the money flows are pinned down and consequent incentives (or disincentives) are discussed, this problem will not be addressed. GP surgeries are also paid for piece rate but don't charge for any service; NHS dentistry services are all charged, albeit less than the private/insurance charges: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/dental-team/roles-dental-team/dentist/pay-dentists