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GDC ARF
BDA calls on GDC to reduce the ARF significantly and offer flexible payment. Read more
BDA welcomes NAO report on Capita
The British Dental Association (BDA) has welcomed the National Audit Office (NAO) report documenting NHS England's mishandling of the primary care support services contract delivered by troubled subcontractor Capita.
Mismanagement of the National Performers List left over 500 practitioners unable to treat patients. Turnaround times to get a performer number, which all NHS dentists are required to hold, surged after NHS England opted to subcontract out services. Before Capita won the contract an application took an average of six weeks. Both overseas and UK trained dentists have since been left waiting for up to 12 months. The report outlines how NHS GPs, optometrists and pharmacists were all been hit by similar problems. As the report notes, service delivery continues to be poor.
The “Primary Care Home” model
One of several NHS innovations in the delivery of care to patients is a model developed and tested by the NAPC: the so-called Primary Care Home. This approach to redesigning primary care was launched with the support of NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens in late 2015. From 15 early sites, the programme had expanded to over 200 by the beginning of 2018, serving over eight million patients.
The “Primary Care Home” model
There are four key characteristics that make up a “Primary Care Home”:
- an integrated workforce, with a strong focus on partnerships spanning primary, secondary and social care;
- a combined focus on personalisation of care with improvements in population health outcomes;
- aligned clinical and financial drivers through a unified, capitated budget with appropriate shared risks and rewards and
- provision of care to a defined, registered population of between 30,000 and 50,000.
LDC Conference 6,7 June 2018: Belfast
The 2018 Annual Conference of Local Dental Committees is taking place on at the Europa Hotel, Belfast.
The 2018 Conference Chair is Joe Hendon. see website
HMRC looking into changing the Employment status of Associate Dentist.
Dentists should be involved in the argument over the employment status of associates.The recent UBER and Pimlico Plumbers Employment Tribunal Cases have brought the issue of tax status under review.
Reports that HMRC has recently written to several dental associates indicating that they are reviewing their employment status.
The initial responses from dental associations and accountancy groups has been one of caution, advising that associates seek further advice prior to talking directly with HMRC – the clear implication being that a change in status may have a financially negative impact on them.
Is your Polices and Procedures up? EHRC, CQC
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) today emailed dentists in England following high profile cases of bullying and harassment in Hollywood and Westminster.
The EHRC states:
"As an employer your organisation is legally liable for sexual harassment suffered by your employees in the workplace, and you have a duty of care to take all reasonable steps to prevent it."
The BDA offers advice to members on this matter.
Dental practices no longer able to apply credit or debit card fees
A new EU directive called the Payment Services Directive comes into force January 2018. This will stop businesses such as dental practices from being able to apply charges when patients use their debit or credit cards to make payments.
GDPR Compliance – How It Will Affect Your Business
For international organizations, the EU’s upcoming data protection act, will bring fundamental changes to the practices of data collection and cyber security. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes effect in May 2018. This is when the data protection act begins enforcing new general data protection regulations for all organizations — regardless of location — if they handle the personal information of EU citizens. GDPR imposes extensive protections, limitations and requirements for compliance. GDPR also imposes severe penalties for noncompliance.
Watch out for the white paper to learn about:
- How new data protection rights for EU citizens will affect your business processes
- Noncompliance penalties that can cost up to 4% of international revenue
- The meaning of “Privacy by Design” and what it means for cyber security
The GDPR will add some new considerations to protecting your patients’ and employees’ data, and you should start thinking about this now.
HSE: Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 – guidance for notifications, registrations and consents
Public Health England PHE launch Change4Life toolkits for dentist to help parents with Snacking
Jan 2018
PHE plans to distribute Change4Life toolkits to dental health teams around England, with practical advice for parents, including Top Tips For Teeth based on Delivering Better Oral Health (DBOH). These are the first Change4Life resources specifically aimed at preventing poor oral health.
There are a limited number of 'Top tips for teeth' toolkits available, with only one kit being offered per practice, so PHE is advising practices to place orders.
To find more information about the toolkit and supporting documents, visit https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/
Amalgam Phase out
Dec 2017
The Minamata Treaty was introduced to phase out the used of amalgam. This means that dental amalgam used will slowly be phased out from the dental practice.
In relation to dental amalgam, it stipulates the following (Courtesy of the BDA):
- Dental amalgam only to be used in pre-dosed encapsulated form; use of bulk mercury by the practitioner prohibited (from 1 January 2019)
- Mandatory use of amalgam separators (from 1 January 2019)
- Service standards from Jan 2019: mandatory retention of at least 95% of amalgam particles for separators installed from Jan 2018, and for all separators by 1 January 2021
- Dentists to ensure that their amalgam waste is handled and collected by an authorised waste management establishment
- Member States to set out a national plan (by 1 July 2019) on the measures they intend to implement to phase down the use of dental amalgam
- No use of amalgam in the treatment of deciduous teeth, children under 15 years and pregnant or breastfeeding women, except when strictly deemed necessary by the practitioner on the ground of specific medical needs of the patient (from 1 July 2018)
- The Commission to report (by 30 June 2020), on the outcome of its assessment
regarding:
- the need for the Union to regulate mercury emissions from crematoria;
- the feasibility of a phase out of dental amalgam use in the long term, and preferably by 2030, taking into account national plans for measures to phase down amalgam use, and respecting Member States' competence for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care.
To find out more information, refer to https://bda.org/amalgam
New regulations on ionizing radiation requirements – information for dentists using x-ray equipment
8 December
2017
The BDA is advising dentists in England, Scotland and Wales, that new regulations will come into force on 1 January 2018, which will mean dentists using x-ray
generators must register with the Health and Safety Executive.
IRR17 will replace IRR99 and we can advise that most of the regulations remain unchanged. However, IRR17 introduces a three-point risk-based system of regulatory control – "notification" (for low
level risk activities), "registration" (for the operation of radiation generators) and "consent" (for the highest risks).
General dental practitioners use x-ray generators, so they will be required to apply in the "register” category (Level 2).
The regulations in Northern Ireland are currently under consultation and we will update members on this, when any changes are announced.
Courtesy of the BDA
General Dental Council publishes guidance materials for New Enhanced CPD
October 2017
Earlier this year the GDC announced that Continued Professional Development is changing from January 2018. One of the changes includes the removal of non-verified CPD and the introduction 100 hours of verifiable enhanced CPD.
To make this transition easier the GDC have published the following support documents:
- ECPD Guidance for Professionals – this publication outlines the new ECPD requirements and aims to answer any questions dental professionals may have about ECPD.
- ECPD Guidance for CPD Providers – this publication outlines the new requirements and any changes required by providers to ensure the standards for CPD to be met.
- PDP template – a blank PDP template is available for dental professionals to use, if they wish.
- PDP examples – there are seven PDP examples available, featuring different members of the dental team, to help ensure all dental professionals understand what content is required for their PDP.
- Activity log template – a blank activity log template is available for dental professionals to use, if they wish.
- Activity log examples – there are three activity log examples available, which aim to ensure professionals understand what is required when recording their CPD. Please note the examples do not demonstrate a full activity log, but give examples of how professionals may record their activity and reflection.
To find more information about the New Enhanced CPD and support documents, visit https://www.gdc-uk.org/professionals/cpd/enhanced-cpd
Dental Check by 1 #DCby1
September 2017
This month the British Society of Paediatric Dentists launched a “Dental Check by 1” campaign at their annual BSPD’s annual conference in Manchester. The aim of the campaign is to increase the number of 0-2 year olds who come in for a check-up and start their dental experience with a positive start.
The BSPD press release quoted: “Claire Stevens, a consultant in paediatric dentistry and President of BSPD who said:
“Children as young as two and three are being admitted to hospital for
extractions under general anaesthetic which is why we need to reach families
early to provide support on prevention. We hope Dental Check by One will raise
awareness of looking after children’s teeth from an early age – baby teeth do
matter!”
BSPD have kindly allowed any practice who are committed to the campaign to use the DCby1 logo.
Find out more information at http://bspd.co.uk/Resources/Dental-Check-by-One
Regulation of Dental Service Regulation
The New Online Dental Referral Service is now in operation. Practices are encourage to report any troubleshooting with the system.
2017 Annual Conference of Local Dental Committees
8 and 9 June 2017 – Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel
Mr. Brian Robertson, Mr. Adam Smith and Mr. Andrew Bell will be attending from Norfolk to represent the LDC.
Confused about your NHS Pension benefits?
May 2017
Total Reward Statements (TRS) have been introduced to provide you with a better understanding of the benefits you have or may have access to as an employee of the National Health Service (NHS). Find out more
GDC Shifting the Balance Consultation
April 2017
Shifting the balance: The aim is a better, fairer system of dental regulation. This consultation builds on the 2016 strategy document Patients, Professionals, Partners, Performance, which sets out the strategy for becoming a more efficient and effective regulator. Shifting the balance programme aims to better understand the profession and use the information gained to modernise dental regulation.
Shifting the balance closed on 26 April 2017.The GDC is currently analysing responses and will publish a report outlining your views on our non regulatory reform in the coming months.
“GDC needs to prevent harm rather than working on costly enforcement. Education and Local resolution is now identified as the best initial option.”
BDA stages legal bid as committed providers squeezed out of orthodontic contracts
March 2017
The British Dental Association (BDA) has initiated legal proceedings against NHS England for setting up potentially impossible barriers to smaller contractors in tenders for over £1/2 billion of orthodontic services.
The BDA has argued that the tendering process, covering orthodontic services in the South of England, is in breach of Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition (PCCC) regulations by failing to treat providers equally and through introducing a procurement system – the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) – that is weighted heavily in favour of larger dental companies. The proposed 10 year contracts are valued at £56 million per annum.
NHS England has encouraged providers to consider creating consortia and submitting bids via those consortia. The BDA contends that it will be an inevitable consequence of the implementation of the DPS that some present providers of orthodontic services will not be able to meet the eligibility criteria despite being high quality providers. See more on BDA website
What does 2017 hold for social care?
January 2017
See the Guardian article.
Something has to change – and, fortunately, there are several ways we can begin to work towards a solution in 2017.
This should be the year that social care and healthcare finally start working together effectively.
PCSE performer list backlog significantly impacts Dental Practices
January 2017
PCSE performer list application processing has continued to frustrate practices and – in some cases – prevent practices from treating patients.
Dental Foundation Trainees – extension to grace period
Following concerns raised by the LDCs and others about the risk of Dental Foundation Trainees (DFTs) not being permitted to work, NHS England has written to Health Education England to announce an extension to the grace period for DFTs to be attached to the performer list from 30 November 2016 until 31 January 2017. This means any DFTs working in practice without a performer number between these dates will not be in breach of NHS regulations, which require them to be on the performers list in order to treat patients.
This exceptional extension is required because of the extraordinary failures of Capita to meet the demands placed on the PCSE service, since it took over the operation on 1 April 2016. NHS England expect that the extension will provide sufficient time to get the remaining DFTs added to the performer list.
NHS England actions to recover the PCSE service
The actions being taken to recover the service from Capita (PCSE) have been announced in a letter to the BDA from Karen Wheeler, the NHS England lead in resolving the problems with the service. NHS England actions are in two parts. Firstly, actions to address the immediate backlogs in performer list applications, and secondly actions to stabilise and recover the service back to business as usual levels. On the backlogs:
- NHS England has set up national panels to fast-track the consideration of applications;
- Additional expert staff, from NHS England and partner organisations, are supporting the process to enable outstanding applications to be considered as quickly as possible;
- Dental: HEE have confirmed the list of dental foundation trainees that require acceptance onto the DLP by 1st December 2016, when their grace period ends. Capita are collating the information to support the National Performers List Decision panel process which will begin in mid-November. New applications to the DPL from non DFT are being considered through the same process;
- We currently expect Capita to process the majority of outstanding applications by the deadline of 1 December, but they may not complete them all until end December.
The actions Capita are taking to stabilise and recover the service include:
- Recruiting additional staff and developing staff knowledge through further training and development supported by external experts;
- Standardising the processes used and work tracking tools;
- More proactive communication to applicants regarding the progress of their application;
- Developing the CRM system to enable Performers List work to be tracked and work- flowed through the process.
All LDCs are continuing to follow the issues closely. You should contact your LDC if the delivery of your contracted activity has been adversely affected by these PCSE issues, or if you anticipate your year-end delivery being so affected.
Healthwatch highlights lack of investment in NHS dental services
December 2016
The national consumer champion for patients, Healthwatch, has published a report highlighting the impact of sustained under-commissioning of primary care dentistry for patients in areas of high demand and where there are vulnerable groups. The report suggests that the commissioner of the service, NHS England, must do more to understand and expand local service provision in areas of high demand, as well as commissioning services for vulnerable groups.
You can download the full report here on the Healthwatch website at: http://www.healthwatch.co.uk/dentistry
The report makes clear that local clinicians, local Healthwatch, local authorities and NHS England should all be working together with patients to ensure that there are sufficient dental services available to meet the needs of patients. The report states:
In some cases, commissioning arrangements for dentistry are not keeping up with changes in demand, leaving people without access to the dental care they need. Local Healthwatch are well placed to work with NHS England and other relevant bodies to identify where such gaps exist to help ensure people can go to the dentist when they need to.
Local Dental Committees (LDCs) are ideally placed to input on dental commissioning proposals and already work with local Healthwatch in many areas. NHS England must ensure it is engaging appropriately with local clinical representatives in the LDCs and elsewhere to ensure that it has sufficient information about the local health economy to commission adequate services for patients. As LDCs, we are committed to working closely with NHS England and other agencies in this regard.
Antibiotic prescribing toolkit and self-audit tool produced for dentists
November 2016
With new statistics revealing that antibiotic prescribing by clinicians across all NHS healthcare settings is falling, dental leaders are urging dentists to build on this by using a new toolkit to support effective antimicrobial stewardship.
The toolkit, which includes an easy self-audit tool and patient-facing posters and leaflets, was developed as a collaboration between Public Health England (PHE), the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP (UK)) and the British Dental Association (BDA). It builds on pioneering work from NHS England Cheshire and Merseyside Local Dental Network.
FGDP Dean, Dr Mick Horton, said: ‘Dentists have a vital role to play in keeping antibiotics working. Audit helps us fulfil our professional responsibility only to prescribe antibiotics when it is appropriate to do so, and the new tool is an easy way to measure our practice against clinical guidance, and identify, implement and sustain any changes we need to put in place.’
The free toolkit is now available to download from both the BDA and FGDP websites, here:
www.bda.org/antibioticprescribing
www.fgdp.org.uk/publications/antibiotic-stewardship.ashx
Drug interaction Warning
Government has published a Patient Safety Notice on the Risk of Patient Harm from an Interaction between Miconazole and Coumarin Anticoagulants.
NHS England releases whistleblowing guidance for Primary Care
November 2016
NHS England has released new guidance to support whistleblowers in primary care. The guidance is intended to make it easier for primary care staff to raise concerns.
The guidance means that each NHS primary care provider should have a named individual, who is independent of management and who is not the direct employer, to act as the “Freedom to Speak Up Guardian”. The Guardian will provide support and awareness to staff on sharing concerns.
The guidance sets out the role for Local Dental Committees (LDCs) on page 9 of the document. A nominated member of the LDC may act as a point of escalation or support for providers and their teams to use locally. NHS England will work with the LDCs to establish a network of “Freedom to Speak Up Guardians” in primary care, ensuring that they are properly supported and resourced where they do take on this role.
Primary care providers in the NHS should be proactive in preventing inappropriate behaviour against staff who raise concerns and are expected to review and update policies and procedures by September 2017 to align with the guidance.
NHS England became a “Prescribed Person” in April 216, meaning that it is an organisation that primary care staff can approach to report suspected or known wrongdoing.
The guidance is available to download here: Freedom to speak up in Primary Care
Shared “statement on dental complaints” published by national bodies
November 2016
The Department of Health, Care Quality Commission, General Dental Council, Healthwatch and NHS England have launched a joint statement on dental complaints to attempt to provide some clarity for professionals and patients about the various options for making and resolving different types of complaint about dental services in England.
The statement covers all dental complaints and concerns, from the minor to more serious issues. The statement will be used by the national bodies so there is a shared understanding of their roles and responsibilities as well as an agreed understanding of the routes for complaints. Although written with patients in mind, the statement is primarily for providers to ensure that patient facing complaints materials are compatible.
It is advisable for all members of the dental team to be familiar with the contents of the shared statement of dental complaints. It can be found below:
Statement on dental complaints
It is important that dental patients give feedback about their experiences, so that services know what they are doing well and where they can improve.
If you are not happy with the treatment or service you have had, it is usually best to tell the practice directly that you’re unhappy, and give them a chance to put things right. They may be able to sort out the problem there and then.
If you do need to make a more formal complaint to the practice, ask for a copy of the policy that explains what you need to do. Topics covered.
If you had NHS dental treatment (including NHS treatment that you paid for)
If you had private dental treatment
If you have safety concerns about a dentist or practice
Where to get help with your complaint
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