Friday 27 May 2022
10:10
Safeguarding children survey
A research team from Newcastle University and The University of Sheffield are carrying out a survey to understand the factors influencing how dental practitioners safeguard children who miss dental appointments in the UK.
The researchers are hoping to gain an improved awareness of the barriers staff face when implementing missed appointment and/or safeguarding procedures in general dental practice.
Please take part in the study by
sharing your invaluable experience to help feed into the evolving knowledge of this important area of practice.
Thursday 26 May 2022
13:33
England: Broken contract to undermine primary care integration
A
stocktake report by Dr Claire Fuller on behalf of NHS England and NHS Improvement has indicated huge potential benefits for public health by integrating dentistry with the wider health service.
The announcement comes after
we warned the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee of the accelerating exodus of dentists from the NHS. We believe that new systems have the potential to improve integration, but the current discredited, underfunded contractual model will limit much-needed progress.
The joining up of services could bring huge benefits to patients, but the integration of primary care will be undermined from the start if the government fail to move forward on the fundamental reform of NHS dentistry.
10:02
England: Associates voices must be heard
Dentists' frustrations within the NHS are driving a move to private and mixed practice. It is vital that national reform negotiations result in a contract that works for everyone, including associates.
Sarah Canavan, recently re-elected Chair of the Associate's Subcommittee, explores the challenges facing the profession in her latest blog: "Associates must have options, and not feel forced into moving away from NHS care, if that is where they would like to stay."
The current situation cannot continue, the system must be fixed to help stop the exodus from NHS dentistry. Over the coming months Sarah and the Associate's Subcommittee will continue to meet to ensure the important issues are taken forward.
Wednesday 25 May 2022
13:35
England: What's driving the NHS dentistry crisis?
Morale among dentists is at an all-time low and inaction from the government is driving a growing exodus from NHS dentistry. Yesterday, Shawn Charlwood addressed the Health and Social Care inquiry into Workforce with evidence provided by thousands of dentists.
Shawn discusses the issues and the facts presented to the inquiry
in his blog: "Many colleagues have simply given up hope government is willing to deliver the change we need. These dentists can't see a light at the end of the tunnel and are voting with their feet."
NHS dentistry is facing a crisis, every dentist lost to the workforce and every unfilled vacancy result in thousands more patients losing access. The government must commit to what is needed and fundamentally reform the broken contract. We will keep you up to date as we call for urgent reform.
08:47
Scotland: Transferring VDPs to NHS Education for Scotland
NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is
transferring Vocational Dental Practitioners (VDPs) to NES as the lead employer for trainees rather than individual dental practices.
This change is expected to benefit trainees by providing a more centralised and coordinated approach. The change follows the successful transfer of Core and Speciality dental trainees to NES last September.
The current transfer requires Ministerial approval and is planned to take place in August.
Tuesday 24 May 2022
16:09
Scotland: Letters sent regarding bursary repayment
Several dentists have been receiving
letters regarding repayment of the Dental Undergraduate Bursary Contract.
When receiving the bursary, students made a commitment to work in the NHS in Scotland for a minimum of five years and that NHS earnings would represent a minimum of 80% of all work carried out.
Dentists are now being asked to submit proof, signed by an accountant, that work over the five-year period has met the threshold. The Scottish Government clarified that if the 80% threshold is not met, a proportion of the bursary will need to be repaid for each year this applies to.
12:04
England: Media coverage on NHS dentistry exodus
We are campaigning on your behalf to urge the Government to fundamentally reform the broken contract driving dentists out of the NHS. Our recent survey into the NHS dentistry crisis has gained local and national press coverage throughout the morning. Our spokespeople have appeared across television, press and radio to highlight the issues.
Shawn Charlwood, chairman of our General Dental Practice Committee, told
Sky News: "Overstretched and underfunded, thousands of dentists have already left the NHS, but many more have begun severing their ties. This is how NHS dentistry will die, a lingering decline that unchecked will leave millions of patients with no options. This Government has ensured many dentists cannot see a future in this service. Without urgent reform and adequate funding there is little hope we can halt this exodus."
Len D'Cruz, Head of BDA Indemnity, appeared on
Sky News' The Early Rundown: "The BDA is very committed to try and make this work, we'd like the government to make NHS dentistry an attractive place to work again. We are before the Health Select Committee today to try and reform this contract…The government has just abandoned ten years of work at the table. I'd like to think there is a prospect for NHS dentistry to work, it needs commitment from the government, it needs money."
Our chair, Eddie Crouch, told the
Guardian's Today in Focus how "a 2006 change in the way dentists are remunerated, the pandemic and a lack of investment has left dentists overworked and struggling to meet demand…But at the moment, the politicians want the public to believe there is a comprehensive dental service out there for them, that they are paying for through their taxes. And that isn't true."
NHS dentistry is facing a huge threat with patients facing growing difficulty accessing services. We will keep you up to date on the latest news as we call for urgent action from the Government on contract reform.
09:00
England: Half of dentists severing ties with NHS
Today, Shawn Charlwood, Chair of the General Dental Practice Committee, will be giving evidence to MPs at the Health and Social Care Committee inquiry into recruitment and retention across healthcare.
Watch live from 10am.
Shawn will be highlighting the results of our recent survey, which asked dentists how they feel about the future of the service. It shows:
- Nearly half (45%) of dentists report they have reduced their NHS commitment since the onset of the pandemic, by an average of over a quarter
- 75% say they are now likely to reduce – or further reduce – their NHS commitment in the next 12 months, the highest level in any BDA survey to date
- Two thirds state their practices have unfilled vacancies for dentists, with 82% citing working under the current discredited NHS contract as a key barrier to attracting new staff
- 87% state they have experienced symptoms of stress, burnout or other mental health problems in the last 12 months. 86% state colleagues in their practice have received physical or verbal abuse from patients.75% say they are unable to spend sufficient time with patients. Only 25% say they are able to offer the kind of care they want to provide.
Our thanks to the thousands of members who had their say. Armed with your evidence, we will be calling for urgent action from the government on contract reform and to ensure a sustainable funding settlement for NHS dentistry.
Look out for updates during the day on Twitter and Facebook.
Monday 23 May 2022
15:41
England: New side agreement available
We have a
new contract side agreement
available for use in the first quarter of 2022-2023. The updated version includes amended UDA targets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the pandemic, NHS England has amended the requirements for NHS practices to meet their commercial targets for the period from 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2022.
If you have any questions, our advice team are here to support our Extra and Expert members with one-to-one advice. You can call 020 7935 0875 or email
advice.enquiries@bda.org to get in touch.
15:38
Wales: Updated associate agreement available
We've updated our
associate agreement template
for use with the contract reform model, please ensure you are using the most up to date version. Use of this agreement requires individual performance data such as new patients and recalls being available for the NHS targets.
For a period of time, reliable data about individual's performance against NHS targets may not be available. To remedy this, we have also drafted a
side agreement
which should be used until reporting data can be accessed.
If you have any questions, our advice team are here to support our Extra and Expert members with one-to-one advice. You can call 020 7935 0875 or email
advice.enquiries@bda.org to get in touch.
09:06
England: Government must freeze NHS dental charges
With inflation now at a 40-year high, we have called on the government to freeze NHS dental charges in England.
NHS prescription charges have already been frozen to ease pressures on the cost of living. In an
open letter to Health Secretary Sajid Javid we say the same logic needs to be applied to dentistry.
1 in 5 patients delay treatment for reasons of costs. However, confusion over changes to eligibility for free dentistry has already seen patients on modest incomes stop visiting their dentist entirely. Our analysis of official data shows treatments delivered to non-paying adults fell by almost a quarter in the five years prior to the pandemic. This translates into as many as 1.7m fewer adults seeking free dental care by 2020.
The government has committed to 'levelling up' access to NHS dentistry, to improve access and attract dentists back to the NHS. We can't see how that's possible without fair funding. We will continue to press the government for a fair deal for NHS dentistry and for our patients.
