This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7262700.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Dentist braced for NHS court bid Dentist wins first round of fight
(about 9 hours later)
A Birmingham dentist is braced for a High Court challenge against NHS dental contracts. A Birmingham orthodontist has stopped the NHS from being able to sack dentists at will.
Eddie Crouch has been fighting for a judicial review claiming consultation about the contracts, which came into force in April 2006, was inadequate. Dr Eddie Crouch will have to wait to hear whether he was right that patients should have been consulted over major changes to NHS dental contracts.
Mr Crouch, Birmingham Local Dental Committee secretary, also said waiting lists had "dramatically" increased. Dr Crouch, who runs a practice in Acocks Green, was given £40,000 by his colleagues to seek the judicial review at the High Court.
South Birmingham Primary Care Trust (PCT) said it would rigorously defend the action in the High Court. Mr Justice Collins is expected to give his judgement on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Mr Crouch has spent two years fighting the case and, if he is successful, it could lead to a big overhaul of dental services in England and Wales. Dr Crouch said under the former system dentists could "immediately" begin treatment on patients but under the new contracts a fixed NHS budget meant a limited number of people could be treated.
'Private treatment' I do pity those poor dentists who have to struggle with this kind of rubbish Mr Justice Collins
He said he had been angry over "misinformation" over the contracts.
"I think the patients should have been consulted about what was being proposed by the government and how they were going to be affected by these changes," he said.
Mr Crouch said under the former system dentists could "immediately" begin treatment on patients but under the new contracts a fixed NHS budget meant a limited number of people could be treated.
He said others were placed on waiting lists, which meant hundreds of people were now waiting and it could lead to them seeking private dentist care.He said others were placed on waiting lists, which meant hundreds of people were now waiting and it could lead to them seeking private dentist care.
South Birmingham Primary Care Trust (PCT) had said it would rigorously defend the action in the High Court, which concerns contracts which came into force in April 2006.
It argued that the rules it was following were put in place by the NHS and were legal.
But lawyers for Dr Crouch said the changes to dental contracts amounted to major reform and the public should have been consulted.
During the hearing, the judge was scathing about NHS regulations for dentists.
'Fairer system'
He said: "It is like going through a marsh, trying to leap from tussock to tussock.
"I do pity those poor dentists who have to struggle with this kind of rubbish."
The judge added that ending an orthodontist's contract early "drove a coach and horses through what the act intended" and was not what Parliament wanted.
The Department of Health had said introducing the contracts would create a "much fairer system".The Department of Health had said introducing the contracts would create a "much fairer system".
It would not comment directly on the case, but has said NHS dentistry was expanding, with PCTs commissioning more dental services now, compared to the year before the reforms.It would not comment directly on the case, but has said NHS dentistry was expanding, with PCTs commissioning more dental services now, compared to the year before the reforms.
Mr Crouch said he had already spent between £30,000 and £40,000 on legal fees fighting the case. Mr Crouch said he had already spent between £30,000 and £40,000 on legal fees fighting the case. "The big risk is if I lose, and if I lose then what happens is I may have to pay the costs not only for my side but also of the primary care trust's side," he said.
"The big risk is if I lose, and if I lose then what happens is I may have to pay the costs not only for my side but also of the primary care trust's side," he said.