The Central Committee for Hospital Dental Services (CCHDS) is a craft committee of the BDA. It is concerned with all matters that affect dental staff working in hospitals and dental public health, including wider issues that affect all NHS clinical staff. The committee, which is supported by an Executive Sub-Committee, has two main objectives:
1. to advise the BDA and its other committees on all matters relating to the provision, maintenance and enhancement of efficient, effective and economical hospital dental and dental public health services; and
2. to act as a conduit between staff working in hospital dental services and in dental public health and those who negotiate their terms and conditions of service.
Hospital dental staff are employed by NHS trusts on the same basis as their medical colleagues, both in training and career grades, and provide secondary care services and consultant back-up for those in primary care in the General Dental Service and Salaried Service, together with emergency trauma services. The main specialties practised are Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics, Paediatric Dentistry and Restorative Dentistry, together with its sub-specialties of Periodontics, Prosthodontics and Endodontics. There are also the additional dental specialties, which include Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Oral Pathology, Oral Medicine and Oral Microbiology.
Most Consultants and SpRs in Dental Public Health in England currently work in health service commissioning organisations such as Primary Care Trusts. From April 2013 they will transfer to Public Health England.T hey undertake a wide variety of tasks including providing advice based on dental services and public health; contract negotiation, monitoring and evaluation within commissioner organisations and those that provide dental services; arbitration and negotiation on exceptional treatment requests not normally provided by the NHS; epidemiology and other assessment of oral health needs; monitoring of quality standards; evaluation of cost-effectiveness; cost benefit analysis of dental care; research and development; planning of oral health strategy both local and national; implementation and monitoring of policy; programme and resource management.
Consultants also play a considerable role in the specialist training of both trainees and primary care colleagues. CCHDS has close links with the British Medical Association (BMA), in particular the Central Consultants Committee (CCC), Junior Doctors' Committee (JDC), and the Joint Medical Consultative Council (JMCC).
Dentists working in hospitals and in dental public health are employed on the same terms and conditions as their medical colleagues. The BDA contracts with the BMA to negotiate with health departments and NHS Employers on their behalf. For employment related advice contact the BMA on 0300 123 1233
Details of the current membership of CCHDS is available from the link to the left.
Dates of forthcoming meetings of CCHDS
2 May 2013
Contact details
If you would like further information regarding the CCHDS please contact the Committee Secretary, Stephen Skelton:
E-mail: s.skelton@bda.org
Telephone: 020 7563 4141
Fax: 020 7563 4561
