‘Excessive Charges’ For Dental Treatment At Bupa Clinics On Isle Of Wight

Islanders who book dentist appointments at private Bupa clinics on the Isle of Wight are being charged a significantly increased fee for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Isle of Wight Radio has been told.

EXCLUSIVE

According to Bupa, it will cost an additional £40 for Aerosol generated procedure treatments such as fillings and crowns, on top of the initial cost of the appointment.

A £7 fee will also be added to non-Aerosol treatments such as a general check-up.

The so-called ‘safety tariff’ covers the costs of the PPE for the clinician, nurse, the rest of the practice staff and the patients, according to Bupa.

HealthWatch Isle of Wight - the independent consumer champion for health and social care on the Isle of Wight - said it was ‘shocked’ at the additional costs.

It has also expressed concern that the ‘excessive’ charges will mean Islanders are not able to afford the treatment they need.

Responding to the enquiry, Healthwatch Isle of Wight said:

'Healthwatch Isle of Wight was shocked to hear that some Islanders are being charged £40 for PPE kit when they attend a private dentist appointment. We appreciate the fact that PPE is more expensive at the moment, but feel it is regrettable that patients are having to bear the cost of this on top of their treatment.

'Since 1st March we have heard from a significant number of people about their experience with dentists, with many people unable to get the treatment and help they need. Some people were in acute pain and reported that they had been unable to eat for days.

'We escalated this to NHS England and asked them for information on how to access the emergency dental hubs which we shared with the public via our Facebook page.

'These emergency dental hubs were initially opened on the Island to support people in emergencies or if painkillers and antibiotics had not worked and patients had to be referred by a dental practice. Now more dental practices have been able to reopen, but are only able to offer a limited service.'

Meanwhile, Bupa insists it is ‘committed to keeping costs to a minimum’ and says it hopes ‘to reduce - and when possible - remove them'.

The healthcare provider insists the global demand for the kit means the cost for all materials used has ‘increased significantly’ compared with pre-coronavirus times.

A spokesperson for Bupa said:

 “The global demand for PPE means the cost for all materials used during treatments has increased significantly compared with pre-Covid. In addition, government guidelines requires our clinicians are required to wear enhanced PPE to minimise the risk of cross contamination during treatments. We have therefore had to introduce a safety tariff for private patients to cover these additional costs, this is either £7 for non-Aerosol generated procedures or £40 for Aerosol generated Procedure treatments.

 “We are committed to keeping costs to a minimum and hope to reduce and when possible remove them as the cost for PPE reduces, or the need for enhanced safety measures decreases or are no longer needed.”

According to NHS England, dentist appointments on the NHS will not require an additional PPE fee.