Friday 1 April 2022
14:13
What does your BDA membership give you?
Our
Corporate Prospectus has been updated and is full of useful information. Inside, you can find out everything you need to know about membership and the benefits you have access to as an Essential, Extra, or Expert member.
It also includes information on BDA Indemnity and bios for each member of our indemnity team, so you can meet our team of dento-legal advisors who are here to support you when you need them.
If you would like to
become a member, you can find all the information you need to know in our new prospectus, on our website, or by calling us on 020 7563 4550.
10:22
Advice: Moving to private practice
We have launched a new
private practice advice page to support members who are weighing up a move into, or an expansion of their, private practice.
Bringing all this advice together for the first time, this page will prove a useful resource to anyone in or considering private practice, whether in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Included is an outline of the possible financial implications of stepping away from NHS/HS dentistry, and advice on business structures, practice diversification, complaints management and pensions.
Thursday 31 March 2022
21:40
England: No answers from NHS England on targets
NHS England have confirmed delays to new arrangements for the NHS contractual year starting tomorrow, Friday 1 April.
In a short message, sent to regional teams this evening, NHS England state:
"Confirmation of the 2021/22 year end reconciliation guidance and contractual performance requirements for 2022/23 are being finalised and we will share with commissioners and the profession as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience, and thank you for your continuing work."
"NHS dentists will head to work in the morning – the first day of the financial year - with no sense of what's expected of them", said GDPC Chair Shawn Charlwood.
"We have demanded clarity for months, so these delays are frankly unacceptable."
Officials had signalled intentions to return to 100% of pre-COVID activity for some time. We have continued to press for a reality check, given the huge challenges practices have and continue to face in this quarter.
COVID infection rates are at near record highs, and we understand thousands of practices are on track to fall short of the Quarter 4 target of 85% target.
"At the bare minimum practices need the ability to plan", Shawn added. "Instead of answers, all colleagues have been offered is a holding message."
We will keep you posted on updates.
14:19
England: Working after exposure to COVID
NHS England has confirmed that "staff who are household contacts of a positive COVID case will now be able to continue to work as normal if they remain asymptomatic and continue to test twice weekly. They will no longer be required to have a PCR test in order to return to work."
As it stands at the moment, someone in contact with a confirmed case should take a PCR test and return to work if it is negative, and take LFTs for a further 10 days, so this is a very welcome change to that guidance.
It does not mention non-household contacts, but since household contacts are likely to be more prolonged, we presume it must be the same for all confirmed contacts.
13:27
England: Access to LFTs after 1 April 2022NHS England has confirmed that patient-facing staff should continue to test twice weekly when asymptomatic and that tests for this process will continue to be available through the
gov.uk portal.
We have asked for confirmation about the provision of tests to private practices. There has been no confirmation of this for wholly-private practices, but we continue to press for this and keep you updated.
11:51
Wales: Two new associate agreements for NHS and mixed practices The Welsh Government has given NHS and mixed practices a choice of either:
- A contract reform option, with payment based on metrics including completing 25% of the UDA target, fluoride varnish application, new patient acceptance, supply of services to existing patients and recall intervals in line with NICE guidance; or
- A UDA-only option.
We have produced
advice on the options available
and two associate agreements for our members, one for use with each option.
We also have model contracts of employment should members feel more comfortable contracting with performers
on an employed basis
.
BDA Extra and Expert members can call the BDA advice line, 020 7935 0875 or email
enquiries@bda.org.
08:36
England: Still no answers on Q1 With less than 24 hours to go colleagues in England still have no clarity on NHS contractual arrangements for the start of the 2022/23 financial year.
While NHS England has widely signalled intentions to return to 100% of pre-COVID activity, we have continued to press for a reality check, given the huge challenges practices have faced in this quarter.
These delays are an insult to thousands of dedicated providers. We are chasing for details and will update members as soon as we can.
Wednesday 30 March 2022
11:31
Northern Ireland: Committee for Health report published The Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Health has published its
Legacy Report for 2017 – 2022. It shows how dentistry featured highly in the work of the Health Committee and the influence our team have had over key debates during the period:
“Early in the mandate, the Committee heard evidence from the British Dental Association NI on issues facing dentistry, including the need for an oral health strategy and investment in community dental services. The Committee later heard evidence on how COVID- 19 exacerbated the problems in dental services, due to the imposition of restrictions on dental treatments, the need for PPE and inequalities arising from the application of criteria for the financial support scheme (FSS).
"The Committee sought further information on these issues from the Department; the Department agreed to a proposal from the Committee to amend its approach to the calculation of FSS for those dentists on maternity leave. The Committee responded to stakeholders' concerns about the future provision of NHS dental services, by engaging with the Chief Dental Officer and senior HSCB officials; the Committee sought further information from the Department on funding for dental services and plans to address the key workforce issues."
10:46
England: An update on lateral flow tests after April 1From 1 April, lateral flow tests will no longer be provided free of charge to the general population, but the Government has now confirmed that
LFTs will be supplied ‘for patient-facing staff in the NHS and NHS-commissioned Independent Healthcare Providers’. We have argued the case for continued availability for dentists and their teams.
We have asked for clarification on the following points:
- the position of entirely private practices
- the process for obtaining tests
- which members of staff are included as patient-facing
- whether it covers all practices providing NHS care, however small the contract.
We have also asked what changes to the current
Standard Operating Procedure we are likely to see as a consequence of the new ‘Living with Covid’ approach. The current SOP says that ‘patient-facing primary care staff are asked to test themselves twice weekly and report their results to Public Health England’. We are assuming that this will need to change with the new approach to testing but again are seeking confirmation from NHS England. This approach would seem inappropriate in light of the wider government approach, in particular for private providers if they are required to fund any testing themselves.
We will keep you updated as we have more information.
08:58
Advice: one-to-one advice available for Extra and Expert members
Did you know, if you're an Extra or Expert member you have access to unlimited one-to-one advice via phone or email from our team of experienced advisors?
With more than 70 years of advising dentists, our advisors are experts in the laws, contracts, and regulations of dentistry. If you're facing complex issues, we will pair you with an advisor who will handle your advice on a one-to-one basis.
Expert membership also gives you and your team all the policies, templates, and checklists you need to manage a safe, efficient and compliant practice.
For more information on one-to-one advice, contact our Practice support team on 020 7563 4574 or email:
advice.enquiries@bda.org.
Not a member?
Join today.
Tuesday 29 March 2022
14:54
England: Access to LFTs after 1 AprilCovid tests can currently be ordered online, but from 1 April lateral flow tests are no longer free of charge to the general public.
Dental staff, however, will still be encouraged to continue to take regular tests (twice weekly) and report their results for the benefit of their colleagues and patient’s safety. Such tests aren’t mandatory, but they are recommended as good practice and are referred to in the SoP.
We are asking for an update from NHS England on how this process will work for dentists – both NHS and private. Our position is that free tests should be provided to both NHS and private dentists, to support them in following the SoPs until such time as the SoPs may be altered.
We will keep you up to date on this over the next few days.
14:12
Scotland and Northern Ireland: Managing locum cover
We have been looking at the different ways you can
manage locum cover when associates need to take time away from the practice. Absences can happen for a range of reasons, and it benefits both associates and practice owners to work together in planning for these scenarios.
Often, associates will find and engage a locum to cover their work in their absence, but this isn't always an option depending on the circumstances.
We can support you to discuss, engage and find the best solution whether finding a locum, providing cover through existing dentists in the practice, or looking for a different solution. If you're not in Scotland or Northern Ireland, see this
advice on locums instead.
10:01
Advice: one-to-one advice available for Extra and Expert members
Did you know, if you're an Extra or Expert member you have access to unlimited one-to-one advice via phone or email from our team of experienced advisors?
With more than 70 years of advising dentists, our advisors are experts in the laws, contracts, and regulations of dentistry. If you're facing complex issues, we will pair you with an advisor who will handle your advice on a one-to-one basis.
Expert membership also gives you and your team all the policies, templates, and checklists you need to manage a safe, efficient and compliant practice.
For more information on one-to-one advice, contact our Practice support team on 020 7563 4574 or email:
advice.enquiries@bda.org.
Not a member?
Join today.
Monday 28 March 2022
15:57
UMAX 2022: Undergraduate oral and maxillofacial surgery conference
This year, we'll be exhibiting at The Royal Society of Medicine UMAX 2022 conference on
Saturday 23 April 2022, 8:30am to 4:30pm.
The conference showcases Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery as a speciality and as a postgraduate career choice, bringing together aspiring surgeons, trainees and senior consultants for interactive lectures, hands-on workshops, problem-based learning, virtual reality simulation and networking.
If you're interested in attending, you can
register now.
13:44
Northern Ireland: Closure of the Health and Social Care Board
On the
31 March 2022 the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) will close, as part of the wider transformation of Health and Social Care services in Northern Ireland. Responsibility for its functions will transfer to the Department of Health.
Changes are being made to the relevant dental regulations, to replace any reference to “the Health and Social Care Board” with “the Department.”
There will be little if any effect or concern for dentists, and dentists in Northern Ireland should have already received a letter from the HSCB last week notifying dentists of this change.
09:29
Recognising young dentists at the BDA Honours and Awards 2022
Our
Joy Harrild Award recognises and celebrates young dentists who are making significant contributions to the profession.
If you know a young dentist who is raising the profile of dentistry, demonstrating leadership qualities and making positive contributions to society, nominations for our awards are now open.
Nominees could join the inspirational and hard-working past recipients of our Joy Harrild award, Reena Wadia (2019), Dipesh Kothari (2018), and Imran Asghar (2017).
If you would like to nominate a young dentist who has gone above and beyond, download and
complete our nomination form before
29 April 2022.
