Filling their mouths with gold

I see some local dentists are reluctantly signing up to the new NHS contracts.

They are complaining that the Government are not paying dentists enough money for NHS work.

What the dentists don't mention is that under the new contracts, the minimum pay an NHS dentist would receive is £80,000.

That's some minimum wage!

I'm reminded of the infamous words of Nye Bevan when the 1945 Labour Government was trying to introduce a National Health Service for the first time in this country.

Both the Conservatives and the BMA were against free health care for all. As usual, Labour was also up against a reactionary right wing press. It was even claimed that the NHS was the first step towards a Socialist plan for Nazi control of Britain!

Bevan said that to get consultants to accept the principle of the NHS, the Labour Government had to fill their mouths with gold.

Seems nothing changes, except today it's the dentists greed we're paying for.

I have no objection to dentists doing private work - providing they pay for their own training and don't expect the public purse to pay.