Some years ago, our dental practice went private. At the time I didn't think too much of it. The cost for my wife and I as patients wasn't wholly unreasonable, and the kids were still free. Costs have risen over the years. Not horrendously so, but enough to notice. My son who turned 25 last birthday now has to make a choice of staying with this practice or trying to find an NHS dentist accepting new patients. My daughter at 23 will be at that stage soon.
Obviously, during the pandemic, dental practices like most businesses had a hiatus. But now they're back and catching up. My practice which is now a BUPA one, wants - no, requires - that when patients visit the surgery they pay towards the costs of the PPE required over and above the normal treatment/plan costs under the guise of it being a "safety tariff". This is a minimum of £7 per visit and could rise to £25 depending on the reason for the appointment. They're arguing that their PPE costs have gone up a hundred fold and that this is only a temporary measure. I can accept costs may have gone up, but so has PPE for most businesses - hairdressers, restaurants, shops etc, most of whom never needed PPE or other safety measures in the first place, and they're not charging their customers for the privilege. The good old NHS isn't levying a tariff either. But it seems good old "private" healthcare customers are ripe for fleecing for a few extra pounds - it's not like private healthcare companies are short of a few quid either.
We all have choices, and so it's hard to complain I suppose but this just seems unreasonable to me.
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