NHS Dental Costs to Increase in April
The Department of Health has confirmed that dental costs and prescription charges in England will increase on April 1st.
As of April 1st the cost of basic band 1 dental treatments will increase by 50 pence to £17.50, band 2 treatments increase by £1 to £48 and band 3 treatments, the most complex services available on the NHS, rise by £5 to £209. Prescription charges will rise by 25 pence to £7.65. The changes were outlined in a written statement from health minister, Simon Burns, in parliament yesterday.
The cost of a prescription payment certificate will remain the same, at £29.10 for three months and £104 for twelve months. Mr Burns said that payment certificates represent very good value for money for people who require more than four items in a three month period or more than fourteen items in a twelve month period.
According to the NHS Information Centre, 241.6 million prescriptions were dispensed between July and September in 2011. Many people, including children, people over the age of 60, pregnant women, people on income support and cancer patients, are entitled to free prescriptions.
Mr Burns said that dental charges play an important role in generating revenue for the NHS. Prescriptions remain free of charge in Scotland.
The charges are expected to cause anger in England as charges are already considerably higher than in other parts of the UK. However, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said that the government is investing an extra sum of 12.5 billion pounds into the NHS to focus on care services and make the system more efficient. The government is also trying to reduce bureaucracy to free around £4.5 billion pounds, which can be invested in patient care.
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