We are insisting on urgent clarity on pay for GDPs in Northern Ireland, following a Department of Health announcement that backdated pay will not be implemented until at least May 2025.
The Minister needs to put the situation right now – dentists cannot carry on running their businesses without adequate funding.
The lack of communication is also making it impossible for practice owners to formulate business plans and navigate the coming year, and NIC and NMW wage increases are adding untenably to existing cost pressures.
Once again, the uncertainty and lack of clarity given to dentists is being perceived as a lack of regard for the profession. Last year’s fraught implementation of the DDRB uplifts to GDPs were a lesson in what needed to be done right this time around.
With only just over a week to go until the end of this financial year, we need to know what additional schemes will be in place for 2025/26. We are urgently seeking redress and support for the profession, and to ensure the situation going forward is sustainable.
We have warned that GDPs are continuing to walk away from Health Service dentistry, and that this situation cannot continue.
Read the full letter from Ciara Gallagher, Chair of NIPDC, to Minister Nesbitt