A package of support – the equivalent of the next two months of membership for free - has been set out by Dental Protection for members in private practice that have experienced a significant drop in their workload and a dramatic fall in income due to Covid-19.

All members working in the private sector either full time or part time will be eligible for two months of subscription relief. Members will be contacted in order to obtain the necessary information to make their subscription relief payment. This subscription relief will be paid to members by electronic funds transfer.

Alternatively, members who choose to stop practising completely - even for a short period during this crisis – can instead opt to become a deferred member of Dental Protection. They will not pay a subscription during this time and they may return as an active member on the same terms when they resume practice at a later date. It is important to note that while membership is deferred members will not be entitled to the benefits of membership if they carry out any clinical activity including providing telephone triage for patients with urgent needs.

Dr Alasdair McKelvie, Head of Dental Services for South Africa at Dental Protection, said:

 “As colleagues and as a fellow dental professional, we want to support members during these unprecedented times.

“Above all else we want to reassure members that Dental Protection is here for them through good times and bad. As a mutual organisation we know there has never been a more important time for us to use our discretionary powers to step in and offer the assistance members need.

“This is not going to be an easy time for any of us, but we are going to get through it.

“We hope that the subscription relief being offered will make a difference to members during this time. We will also continue to monitor the situation closely and we will keep the support provided by subscription relief under review in the months ahead.

END

Notes to editors

For further information contact: Patricia Canedo at [email protected] +44(0)7976 378216.

About Dental Protection

Dental Protection is a registered trademark and a trading name of The Medical Protection Society Limited (“MPS”). MPS is the world’s leading protection organisation for doctors, dentists and healthcare professionals. We protect and support the professional interests of more than 300,000 members around the world. Membership provides access to expert advice and support and can also provide, depending on the type of membership required, the right to request indemnity for any complaints or claims arising from professional practice.

Our in-house experts assist with the wide range of legal and ethical problems that arise from professional practice. This can include clinical negligence claims, complaints, medical and dental council inquiries, legal and ethical dilemmas, disciplinary procedures, inquests and fatal accident inquiries.

Our philosophy is to support safe practice in medicine and dentistry by helping to avert problems in the first place. We do this by promoting risk management through our workshops, E-learning, clinical risk assessments, publications, conferences, lectures and presentations.

MPS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MPS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.