Dental staff in Northern Ireland qualify for £500 payments

General dental practitioners and their staff are eligible for £500 payments in Northern Ireland.

This was confirmed last week by the country’s health minister, Robin Swann, in response to numerous queries from the profession and the British Dental Association (BDA).

However, those at dental school missed out on a special recognition payment of £2,000 put aside for students who have actively contributed to direct delivery of care.

Alongside their medical and pharmacy colleagues, dental students were excluded from the package set aside by the Department of Health.

Out of lockdown

The letter reads: ‘The special recognition payment announced has a specific purpose.

‘It is targeted at students on pre-registration programmes which, during their clinical placement, have continuously actively participated in the direct delivery of care, often within COVID-19 environments, supporting patient safety and improving health outcomes.’

The announcement also covered the topic of vaccinator remuneration. It confirmed that employed dentists and doctors are paid under their existing terms and conditions.

This comes as the Northern Ireland Executive announces a plan to ease out of lockdown.

Currently, there are no fixed dates in the plan. The first review will take place on Tuesday 16 March, with further reviews scheduled for 15 April, 13 May and 10 June.

You can read the full letter here.