holy cow, pigs may fly
Well, the projected deficit for the current year for the UK is forecast by some commentators to be as high as 12.8% of GDP compared to that of 12.7% for Greece.
And over the sea in Ireland, the state funded PRSI dental system has literally been decimated with very little notice. Until recently, patients who qualified under this scheme, about 44% of the population, received free examinations, scale and polishes and x-rays, and enjoyed generous contributions towards fillings, endodontics and dentures. No more, now it is just one examination p.a. and that is it. Sure, the Government have said that it may just be for a year, but if that is true then the first pig is about to fly.
So, what of the UK? It is, of course, entirely a matter of speculation as to what extent state funded dentistry would be hit, but what all political commentators have agreed upon is that there will be widespread cuts in public spending and they will be large. Therefore, it is unlikely that dentistry will escape unscathed. So, given the significant uncertainty, in both the political and economic landscape, what should dental practices that are mainly reliant upon the NHS for their income do?
Well, in Ireland it is important to remember that the notice period for the policy change was very short indeed and caused widespread anxiety. So, a little bit of forward planning and some “what if” scenarios would not go amiss. Often, dental practices leave it until the last minute before implementing change which can lead to high stress levels, mistakes being made, and a general state of confusion, but thinking and planning ahead means that this can be avoided.
Ask yourself the question, “What would I do if the practice faced a 10% or 20% reduction in the value of UDA’s or some equivalent action which, for example, resulted in the practice having to perform 20% more UDA’s but for the same contract value?” Please do not come back with the answer that PCT’s will not do that or will not be allowed to do it. From April 2011 ring fencing protection is removed from the dental budgets and, unless extended, PCT’s will be free to move the monies into other areas. Also, as reported in The Guardian only this week, there is already an overspend of £130 million in the NHS this year, with a third of PCT’s running deficits. With “zero real growth” the NHS will face a shortfall of £20 billion by 2013 – a gap that will grow to £38 billion by 2016.
But hey, dentistry might just be the sacred cow and escape unscathed, you never know! And if that happens then pigs will not just fly, there will be whole squadrons of them performing aerobatic stunts! So, plan for the worst and pray for better.
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