Dentists earning pounds 200,000 on NHS

THERE HAS been a boom in the number of dentists boosting their incomes from the NHS to six-figure sums by treating scores of patients every day.

Official figures show almost 500 dentists earned more than pounds 200,000 from the NHS between 1997 and 1998 compared with 20 between 1990 and 1991. Their earnings are more than twice the average NHS income for dentists, before deductions for expenses.

The boom in high-earners is causing alarm in the wake of the case of Melvyn Megitt, the dentist accused of providing unnecessary treatment to children and adults in Manchester which is being heard by the General Dental Council. Mr Megitt is alleged to have earned over pounds 600,000 from the NHS in one year and is said to have treated up to 150 patients a day.

Dentists have complained for years that NHS fees are too low to allow them to earn a reasonable living from the NHS. Average earnings from the NHS are just over pounds 100,000 of which 55 per cent goes on the expenses of running the practice, leaving an average income of pounds 46,000.

Many dentists have turned to private work in the last ten years to boost their NHS earnings but some have opted to increase their NHS work by working longer hours or hiring assistants from abroad.

The British Dental Association said the increase in the number of these assistants - about 1,000 are thought to be working in the UK - reflected the shortage of British dentists. Most come from South Africa and are forced to take jobs as assistants, working under supervision, because they do not have the equivalent training to qualified British dentists.

The Patients Association said the boom in high earnings and the growth in the hiring of assistants was worrying. Roger Goss, a spokesman, said: "Perhaps this is something the health department ought to investigate. It raises the question of whether all the work being done is being done by fully qualified people."

Linda Wallace, the head of general practice at the BDA, said: "It is a way of boosting NHS earnings provided you have got a room to put the assistants in. If you have the space, expanding the practice may mean you can save on costs."

Michael Norton, a dental adviser to the Isle of Wight health authority, said: "There is always a suspicion if someone is earning a large amount of money from the NHS that their work is being hurried or rushed and may be of a poor standard. Some work very long hours and some deal with the sorts of treatments that incur higher fees such as orthodontics or they hire assistants. But the Dental Practice Board targets practitioners with high earnings for special scrutiny because of this concern."

Mr Megitt had no assistant but managed to cope by working long hours. The BDA said yesterday that high-earning dentists working single handedly were "highly unusual". It added: "The vast majority of the country's 19,000 NHS dentists are finding it increasingly difficult to meet the mounting costs of running their practices."