NHS Dentists’ 3% pay rise considered positive step

NHS independent pay review committee endorsed a 3% pay rise for NHS Dentists and consultants, a recommendation which parliament has accepted. Nurses, salary GP’s and paramedics have also had their pay increased by 3%. The BDA has hailed the decision as a great move in terms of securing the future of our dental industry.
Polls show that, if Covid-19 restrictions stay as they are currently, just short of 50% of England’s NHS dentists are not only inclined to reduce their workload, but also to seek either a career change or early retirement.
Following parliamentary acceptance of the independent NHS Pay Review Body and the Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Renumeration recommendations, the increase will be backdated to April 2021.
Peter Crooks, the British Dental Association deputy chair, said: “An uplift on the right side of inflation is progress. A decade of pay restraint has taken its toll. We can never return to recommendations that fail to reflect the cost of living. Both providers and performers need to see the benefit of this uplift. This has been a hard year for practices. But we look to owners to ensure this increase reaches their associates. Even before Covid, a growing number of colleagues saw no future in the NHS. If we’re ever going to make this service a going concern then fair pay must remain the rule.”