On 2008-06-21 15:42:20 +0100, Roland Perry said:

In message , at
13:43:41 on Sat, 21 Jun 2008, John Rumm
remarked:

Except that the government is not delivering on its commitments. It
isn't possible to get good quality dentistry via th NHS.
It's entirely possible to get the same quality work as the same
dentist would charge you private rates for. Whether getting "even
better" is value for money is something only an individual can decide.

My dentist gave up NHS work on the grounds that there came a point
where he was forced to cut so many corners he felt the quality of care
he could offer at the price was unacceptable.

He should examine his cost base.

That goes without saying, but must not be at the expense of equipment,
materials and facilities, and certainly not remuneration. In all
probability, little can be done about the cost of premises.

As I've said several times, there's a postcode lottery involved. Many
do quit the NHS.

As they should.



Again, that's not really the point. We are where we are and if you
happen to live in an area with cheap property and neighbours who don't
expect you to be running this year's model Mercedes, then a dentist's
fees can be plenty to make a living from NHS patients.

And for the majority not living in those areas?

Is that the majority of areas. This country is in a worse state than I
thought

Based on the level of complaint about the difficulty in finding NHS
dentists, it is clear that it's no longer viable. The issue is not
that the country is in a bad state, but that we are being lied to about
what we are supposed to be getting in return for the vast sums of money
being wasted with the NHS. The simple truth is that dentistry exposes
it very starkly. In the remaining areas it is obfuscated by
administration.