Court of Appeal
COURT OF APPEAL HANDS DOWN JUDGMENT IN WELSH DENTISTS CASE
The Court of Appeal has handed down a judgment that clarifies the working of the standard contract that applies to all NHS dentists practising in Wales.
In a claim brought by two individual dentists, the Court of Appeal, upholding the High Court, confirmed that a failure by a dentist to keep a record of the carrying out of a full mouth examination does not permit the Health Board to withhold payment for units of dental activity that have in fact been undertaken by the dentist.
The Court of Appeal also clarified that the word “examination” in the contract would normally mean a “full mouth examination”, albeit not in all cases, such as the provision of emergency treatment.
The same standard wording applies to all NHS dentists practising in England.
Mary O’Rourke QC with Nicola Newbegin appeared for the dentists, instructed by Jane Lang of BLM.
Full judgment: Powys Teaching Local Health Board v Dr Piotr Dusza & Dr Hako Sobhani [2015] EWCA Civ 15
[2015] EWCA Civ 15
COURT OF APPEAL, WELSH, DENTISTS CASE, Mary O’rourke, Nicola Newbegin, NHS, Dentist, examination,