Dental practice 'gave ultimatum' after people queued for hours to register, patients claim
Summary
People trying to register as NHS dental patients at Lodge Causeway Dental Centre in Bristol complained they were told they must pay for a hygienist appointment before signing up. The practice admitted it offered the appointments but stated it was misunderstood as mandatory to register as NHS patients.Key Facts
- Lodge Causeway Dental Centre held open days in September and October for new NHS patients.
- Patients claimed they were asked to pay £69 for a hygienist appointment to register.
- A patient named Alice Worthington said she paid the fee despite not needing the appointment.
- The dental practice reportedly saw 2,591 NHS patients but only conducted 108 hygienist appointments.
- The practice said payments for hygienist appointments were automatically set up and apologized for the confusion.
- NHS contracts do not allow refusal of NHS service if a patient declines additional paid services.
- Some patients waited in line for hours without initially being informed of the potential fee.
- The British Dental Association highlighted patients should not feel pressured to pay for extra services to access NHS care.
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