Patients at risk
The Dental Law Partnership is calling for tighter monitoring of the quality of the work of NHS dentists.
This is after it discovered that the body responsible for assessing risk to NHS dental patients, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) had examined just 160 dental patients last year (2012-13).
The NHSBSA is a Special Health Authority and an Arms-Length Body of the Department of Health.
It is tasked with providing central services to NHS organisations, contractors, patients and the public. Part of that remit includes visiting and assessing dental practices where potential risk has been identified.
The aim of the NHSBSA is to support Primary Care Organisations monitoring performance of dentists and the care of patients.
However, figures provided by the Dental Law Partnership (DLP) revealed that during the same 12 month period that the NHSBSA only managed to examine 160 patients, DLP took on 820 new dental negligence claims.
Latest figures from the General Dental Council show that there are currently 39,258 registered dentists in the UK, who are responsible for treating NHS patients
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