Fraud crackdown will root out dentists' tricks and dodges

Some dentists have falsely claimed they open their surgeries at weekends to deal with emergency cases in order to obtain bonus payments from the NHS. It is one of the tricks which are to be rooted out in a crackdown on fraud in dentistry to be announced today, reports Colin Brown, Chief Political Correspondent.

The Government will today announce that it is tightening checks on NHS payments to stop fraud by dentists who have been overcharging for their work.

Alan Milburn, the health minister, ordered the crackdown after a series of cases which showed that a number of dentists were using a range of fiddles. Some dentists had been caught claiming for work that they had never carried out, others invented and claimed for imaginary patients, while others overcharged genuine patients and pocketed the money.

Ministerial sources said last night that the vast majority of dentists were honest, hardworking professionals, but a series of court cases raised alarm about the possible abuses of the system.

In one case, a dentist from East Sussex was sentenced to six months' imprisonment after admitting pocketing pounds 4,000 in false claims from a practice in Eastbourne. She treated patients during normal surgery hours and then claimed the maximum emergency call-out fee for the work by claiming it was done at the weekend.

In another case, a dentist in Eltham, south London, was struck off by a professional conduct committee after making false claims for work he had never done. He failed to submit five X-rays he claimed money for to the Dental Practice Board on time, and overcharged two patients who were seen by a hygienist.

"This present situation is totally unacceptable. These people are criminals and are stealing money that should be going into treating patients," said Mr Milburn.

The extent of the fraud nationally is not known, but Mr Milburn said the checks in his department had shown the areas where there was scope for abuse, and where procedures could be tightened up.

Mr Milburn also is ordering action to stop some patients from falsely claiming they are exempt from charges to obtain dental treatment free of charge on the NHS. More vigorous checks are to be carried out on patient's claims for charge exemption to weed out those claiming falsely.

The action to be taken will include reviewing the wording of the dental fee scale to make it more difficult for dentists to make fraudulent claims; supporting the Dental Practice Board in its drive for more probity; strengthening links between the DPB and health authorities to stamp out fraud; and consultations with the dentists' professional bodies to continue the attack on fraud.