11:39am Thursday 6th March 2008
By Simon Barrett
Bosses of an award-winning dental surgery say they may have to close because of a new system of charging.
The Toothsmart surgery, in Portland Road, Hove, may stop treating NHS patients.
Colette Murphy, who runs Toothsmart with husband Zoy Erasmus, says the practice has been struggling to break even since the Government introduced the controversial dental contract in April 2006.
Mrs Murphy said: "The local PCT told us that there is no problem with access to dental care, yet the figures show fewer people are visiting the dentist.
"We have been working flat out and have not had a holiday, yet are struggling to break even. It cannot be right."
Last year the Toothsmart team won the Best Dental Team in the South East title in the Dentistry Awards.
Yet under the controversial NHS reforms the practice is struggling to make ends meet and hit the PCT's targets.
Since the Government changes, dentists are contracted to provide "units of dental activity" (UDA) - the currency of the dental contract.
An examination is classed as one UDA, fillings are worth three and laboratory work such as crowns achieve 12 UDA.
Mrs Murphy added: "For some reason our UDA value is one of the lowest in Brighton and Hove.
"There is no way we can reach our target. The contracts are ludicrous, unfair and unworkable."
Mrs Murphy is in dispute with the PCT, which says the practice owes £96,000 over work which has not been carried out.
She said: "The PCT pays surgeries for the work at the start of the year, but because our targets are so unrealistic we simply cannot do all that work.
"If we have to pay those clawbacks we will eventually have to stop treating NHS patients and close half the surgery, because it is simply costing us too much to keep treating people on the NHS."
About 6,000 fewer adults and 900 fewer children have visited NHS dentists in Brighton and Hove since April 2006. The British Dental Association (BDA) claimed the system is "failing both patients and dentists".
A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Teaching PCT said: "There are NHS dental places available in the city now, and if this practice moves away from NHS dentistry we would use the money to provide replacement NHS places at other practices instead.
"The NHS dental contract gave practices an agreed amount of money in exchange for an agreed quantity of treatment. The quantity was agreed with each practice on the basis of the activity levels it had been delivering previously.
"When a practice delivers less activity than it had contracted for, we ask it to refund the money it has been paid for the proportion of work it has not done.
"The Toothsmart practice provides excellent care to its patients and we want to see that continue. We have been working intensively with the practice to help it find a way forward, but have not yet agreed a solution."
The dispute is due to be heard by an independent review panel.
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