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Making
the right choice for the future of your Dental Health
You may well have seen on the television or read in the press that
providing quality dentistry has become very difficult within the
NHS. Major changes have been imposed on the NHS dental service with
effect from 1st April 2006.
We have a loyalty to and from our patients,
and although we have been prepared to support the NHS in the past,
we find it increasingly difficult to provide the quality of care
you have become accustomed and which we feel you deserve. As a practice
we have assessed these changes carefully and have tried to work
under them but have concluded that the best way we can provide care
to our patients in the future is outside of the NHS.
Dr Rishi Soni our current NHS dentist will
be working for us three days a week on a private basis after 1st
September and hopes to continue treating many of his existing patients.
Regrettably Dr Jasmine Piran is leaving us at the end of June to
do some traveling.
Our adult patients will need to choose which
option they prefer for the future, as we will no longer be able
to offer an NHS service after 1st September 2006. This letter serves
to provide notice to enable you to choose your future service at
the practice. The options are shown below :
Option 1 for adults
- Practice Plan- Budget for your dental health and become a member
of the practice for only £15.50 per month.
This plan means that for a fixed monthly amount you are entitled
your regular examinations, two hygiene visits per year, your routine
x-rays and worldwide trauma and emergency callout insurance. In
addition, members receive discounts on their dental treatments and
other items sold in the practice and use of our Extended Payment
Scheme for high cost treatments.
For more information about this scheme please
call us on 01428 643506, visit our fees
page or download the brochure.
Option 2 for adults
- Pay as you visit
A price list is included and you simply pay after each examination
and treatment. Please note we now request a 50% booking fee for
hygienist appointments and some treatments with the dentists.
What about children?
Our local Primary Care Trust has refused to give us a contract to
offer NHS dentistry to our children so we
will not be able to offer an NHS service to children after September
1st. We are extremely concerned about this as a practice
and as most of us are parents ourselves, we care about maintaining
children's dental health. After much discussion we have decided
to offer the following options to children of our private patients.
Option 1 for children
- Kids Days
We will be offering 3-4 days per year (evenly spaced out) exclusively
for children. These will be fun, interactive and informative. The
aim is to have your child enjoy their visit and benefit from a thorough
examination and orthodontic assessment when indicated, advice and
fun education from our hygienists and dentists all free
of charge. Our team has collectively agreed to offer their
services for free on these days so that we do not have to charge.
At any examination if any treatment is indicated a full written
estimate will be provided. If you are interested in these days please
indicate this on the reply slip enclosed, the first day will be
Saturday 2nd December.
Option 2 for children
- Examinations other than on Kids Days
If your child is unable to attend one of our Kids Days they are
welcome to come in for an examination for which there will be a
fee of £25. At any examination if any treatment is indicated
a full written estimate will be provided.
What happens next?
If you or your child has an appointment before September 1st 2006
you can be seen on the NHS for this appointment. You will still
need to return your reply slip in order for us to send you an agreement
if needed and so that we are aware of your decision to continue
to receive your dental care with us.
If you or your child has an appointment after
September 1st 2006 please would you confirm your attendance with
us by returning the reply slip. All adult patients joining us on
a private basis will be offered a consultation with our patient
co-ordinator, Claire Harris, free of charge to answer any questions
you may have.
We appreciate that some of you may wish to
remain registered with an NHS dentist, if this is the case please
contact the local Primary Care Trust for alternative practices on
0845 4647.
Kind regards
Barry Oulton
Dr Barry Oulton
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