20th April Covid-19 Update

20 April 2020

Schedules; Furlough; App

Please find below a summary of today’s Covid-19 news relevant to GDPs in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Today’s GG&C Chief of Dentistry update is available here.

  1. SCHEDULES
    • PSD made March paid April NHS Schedule payments today.
    • There were a number of issues with practices’ NHS connection today. PSD sent out a comm stating “If you are accessing eSchedules in your practice and you cannot reach the log on page, we advise you reboot your broadband, then your white Fortinet box. Sometimes, when these devices have not been used for a while they need to be restarted.”
  2. COVID19 FSM
    • It is as yet unclear how the averages were worked out for each list number but it does appear to be the case that for all practitioners who fell short of their average there was indeed a top-up payment made in Line 13, which is detailed on the Allowances and Superannuation report as COVID19 FSM.
    • If the value in this report is 0 then you likely claimed more treatment than your average last month. There are significant questions to be answered by PSD and Scottish Government about how this will impact upon superannuation, we are on the case.
  3. LINE 40 and LINE 13
    • Line 40 does not include the COVID19 FSM payment on Line 13.
    • You must add the Line 13 COVID19 FSM payment and Line 40 together before applying your usual associate pay calculations (if that is how you plan to calculate associate pay).
    • Again, if there was no COVID19 FSM payment this month then the normal Line 40 will be the correct number to work with.
    • If you would like a crash course in what all the ‘Lines’ on an NHS Schedule mean… you could look study this explanatory document here.
  4. FURLOUGH
    • The portal for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme went live today and can be accessed here.
    • The CDO has stated mixed practices may be able to take proportionate advantage of this scheme.
    • How that ‘proportion’ is applied is the subject of much debate and will likely be left to Employers, their accountants and HMRC to hash out in the months to come.
  5. SAVING SCOTTISH DENTAL PRACTICES ‘APP’
    • A collaboration of Scottish Dentists have designed a free ‘App’ for the simple purpose of ‘Saving Scottish Dental Practices’
    • The app serves as a private networking space for practitioners to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on their practices and build a support base to lobby for urgent change.
    • Users are required to provide their GDC number and must be dentists who work in a Scottish Dental Practice (NHS, Mixed or Private).
    • You can download the App here.

GG&C Chief of Dentistry Update 20th April