NHS dentists have had less than two weeks to install software for new charging system

NHS dentists have had less than two weeks to implement the software required for administering a controversial new patient charging scheme that begins this weekend.

Upgrades to dentists’ practice systems were sent out by disk only last week.

Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming says some surgeries only received the upgrades on Monday, with the new charging arrangements due to start on 1 April.

‘To expect people to implement new software in four days is a recipe for chaos, especially when those involved are non-specialists and have to train their own staff,’ he said.

‘The Department of Health (DoH) knew when this was going to happen and should have distributed the software at least a month ago.’

A DoH spokeswoman said: ‘The disk upgrades went out from both major suppliers early last week. So all dentists will have the software for the start of the new charges.’

The scheme will see dentists being paid to provide general dental care, rather than payment being determined by each procedure, such as fillings or extractions. It is intended to encourage more preventative treatment, but many dentists say they will reduce the amount of NHS work they perform to make ends meet under the new plan.

A recent survey of 1,000 dentists suggested that more than 130,000 patients will have to take private treatment or find another NHS dentist.