The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has launched a consultation on increasing its dental fees by 13% from April 2019.
In its consultation, Regulatory fees – have your say, the CQC proposes increasing fees per dental chair by £109 to £946.
The regulator claims this is to ensure the cost of regulation and fees recovered are ‘properly aligned.’
‘We don’t underestimate the impact on providers of paying fees,’ Peter Wyman, CQC chair, says in the foreword.
‘We’ll continue to look carefully at our costs relating to regulation.
‘We have a responsibility to cover our costs by charging fees.
‘But we are also accountable for demonstrating that we are fair, efficient, effective and proportionate.’
‘Inflation-busting increases’
The BDA has requested an urgent meeting with the CQC after it announced the ‘inflation-busting’ rise.
Dentistry is described as ‘low risk’ when compared with other sectors by the CQC.
It currently inspects 10% of dental practices every year, finding enforcement issues in only 2% of that group.
‘When time and again CQC reports show this profession is delivering the very best for our patients, it is baffling they’re asking us to pay through the nose for them,’ Henrik Overgaard–Nielsen, BDA’s chair of General Dental Practice, said.
‘There is frankly no justification why low risk, high quality care comes with such a high regulatory price tag.
‘Our compliance costs have surged by over 1,000% in the last decade.
‘The sustainability of services has already been pushed to breaking point.
‘Many practices will struggle to understand why they face inflation-busting fee increases for doing right by their patients.
‘We urge colleagues take this opportunity and spell out to the CQC what these extra burdens will mean.’
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