Friday 4 December 2020
16:50
COVID-19 vaccination programme: Indemnity arrangements confirmed
The Office of the CDO England has today messaged practices regarding the COVID-19 vaccination programme indemnity arrangements.
We have previously updated you on the news that the NHS are looking to hire
vaccinators,
clinical supervisors and
healthcare professionals to support the COVID-19 vaccination programme and today's email clarifies the indemnity arrangements for those who participate in the programme.
Dentists and team members are free to apply to work as part of the programme. It is our understanding that this involvement will be entirely separate from existing clinical commitments and will take place outside of dental practices.
Today's message confirms that if you are working on a volunteer basis, you will need to be covered under the indemnity arrangements of the host organisation.
“This cover extends to additional staff being brought in to help with administering vaccines under the national protocol, provided they are engaged by the Trust or practice, for example via a secondment agreement, honorary contract or volunteer agreement. These indemnity arrangements will also apply to the administration of any temporarily authorised COVID-19 vaccines.”
Further information about indemnity and the COVID-19 vaccination programme can be found in
NHSE/I's FAQ document.
12:45
BDA not in agreement with BSA rule change on triage form
This week the BSA sent a message to all practices providing NHS care in England informing them that the current rules on submitting triage forms (after a dentist or DCP has undertaken a clinical triage) have been amended.
According to the revised rules, from 1 December 2020, practices will no longer need to submit a COVID-19 triage form if a face-to-face appointment is made for the patient and an FP17 form is submitted.
We did not agree to this change, nor were we consulted. It goes against the agreement that we made, when practices first re-opened, that both courses of treatment and triage would be counted towards the 20% minimum level of care expected.
We are seeking clarification and discussion with NHS England on this issue.
Thursday 3 December 2020
12:45
Scotland: Dentists can help deliver COVID-19 vaccinations
This week the Scottish Government announced that Health Boards and Integration Authorities will take the lead role in providing the COVID-19 Immunisation Programme for 2020/21, and dentists may be contacted by their Health Board about possible participation in the programme.
It will
not be mandatory for NHS dental contractors to participate in the programme and exact arrangements will vary between Boards. A CMO letter will provide the clinical arrangements for the programme. Participating dentists will be located at a vaccination hub to undertake this work and will be expected to explain the vaccine to patients, gain their consent and then administer the vaccination.
Dentists who decide to opt-in to the programme will be advised about local arrangements for the immunisation programme, including provision of appropriate PPE, stock control and distribution of vaccines and appropriate monitoring arrangements. Online training will be organised by NHS Education for Scotland and NHS Boards will arrange an additional half day training session. Dental practitioners will be acting on behalf of the Board and will be indemnified through the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS).
It is envisaged that a large proportion of the vaccination programme will be delivered in early 2021. A sessional fee will be offered to contractors participating in the programme which will be set at £230 per contractor. The Scottish Government has agreed this fee with the BDA’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee.
12:40
Webinar: Setting up a private dental practice during a pandemic
Book your place for our upcoming webinar on
setting up a private dental practice during a pandemic. It will take place on Thursday 14 January from 19.30 - 20.30. Members can attend for free, non-members can attend for £50 and DCPs for £30.
This webinar will go through how to set up a private dental practice during a pandemic. The speakers will draw on their 20+ years of experience of setting up dental practices for their dental group and clients.
12:38
Catch up with our oral cancer webinar
As part of
Mouth Cancer Action Month, we hosted a webinar in November on the signs and symptoms of the early stages of oral cancer.
Saman Warnakulasuriya, who contributed to our
oral cancer toolkit, created in conjunction with Cancer Research UK, was joined by Len D'Cruz to discuss detection, referral and the dento-legal aspects of diagnosis.
As the webinar was fully booked, we've made it available on-demand until 11 January and free for all members (one-hour CPD):
Oral cancer – detection, referral and dento-legal aspects of diagnosis.
11:31
Eight lessons we must learn from COVID-19
COVID-19 is far from over. But in his latest blog BDA Chair, Eddie Crouch outlines the eight lessons which must be learned on vaccination, access and the essential role of dentistry.
“The COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented, and the Government had a duty to act, sometimes without waiting on a clear evidence base to emerge. However, mistakes have been made and some of the choices made since March have had a devastating impact on our patients and the sustainability of dental practices.”
“We [are] concerned that dentists – in both NHS and private settings – will not be given priority to the COVID-19 vaccine. As we’ve seen in England, where NHS contractors in England have been
excluded from the free flu vaccination programme. Given volunteers are being sought from across the workforce to deliver the vaccine, we need to avoid a surreal situation where dentists administering the vaccine are likely to be ineligible to receive it.”
Wednesday 2 December 2020
14:26
England: Guidance changed for the clinically extremely vulnerable
The Government has
written to people on the Shielded Patient List (SPL) advising them of the latest advice on how they can stay as safe as possible. Unlike the guidance that has been in place since 5 November, this group are now no longer being advised to stay away from work. However, they are still advised to keep the number of social interactions to a minimum and maintain social distancing. Dentists and their teams are advised to review this new guidance if relevant to their circumstances.
13:02
Supporting your recovery after COVID-19
Dentists and dental teams across the country are grappling with the effects of COVID-19. The NHS has provided resources for those who are recovering from COVID-19, to support those coming to terms with the impact the virus can have on the body and mind. If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19,
Your COVID Recovery should help you to understand what you might expect as part of your recovery.
11:15
Dentists must be given priority access to COVID-19 vaccine
It is vital that dentists and their teams are given priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine alongside other frontline healthcare workers, so they can keep providing an essential service to the patients who need them. We had
made this position clear to the Government from the outset, and we have been seeking assurances that both NHS and private dentists – as well as their teams – will count as health and care staff for the purposes of priority access to the vaccine.
As this morning’s announcements haven’t confirmed the exact status of dental staff in the priority queue, we are now pressing the Government to give dentists clarity on when they can expect their teams to be vaccinated. We will update you when we have more information.
08:40
COVID-19 vaccine approved for use
The Government has today accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for use.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will also publish its latest advice for the priority groups to receive the vaccine, which include:
- care home residents
- health and care staff
- the elderly
- the clinically extremely vulnerable.
The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week.
The Department of Health and Social Care has stated: "This follows months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA who have concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
"The NHS has decades of experience in delivering large scale vaccination programmes and will begin putting their extensive preparations into action to provide care and support to all those eligible for vaccination".
Tuesday 1 December 2020
15:37
Northern Ireland: Your views on dental nurse training
We have been invited to provide feedback from the profession about how the current dental nurse training qualifications are working from an employer’s perspective. And so, we are reaching out to dentists in Northern Ireland to ask for your views on dental nurse training qualifications.
Please complete this
online survey to share your views on this important topic. Your responses will feed into a once in five years review of the area, which is being undertaken in conjunction with the regional colleges. We would be grateful if you could provide your views on the current qualifications.
15:25
Life support training for dental professionals
The General Dental Council and the Care Quality Commission are reminding dentists and dental teams to update their knowledge and skills in resuscitation. Indeed, Resuscitation Council UK recommends this is done at least annually in their document
Quality Standards: Primary Dental Care.
It's essential for dentists and their teams to have access to life support training. But with the pandemic restrictions in place, it may be more difficult for dental professionals to access Basic Life Support (BLS) and Immediate Life Support (ILS) training this year. We encourage you to
use online resources during this time, and to record and evidence your efforts made to access training.
13:50
Donate blood plasma to help fight COVID-19
Last month, a final year dental student shared her experience of getting coronavirus and
called on other dentists to donate plasma to help save lives. Blood plasma is still needed. If you’ve had COVID-19 and recovered, you're encouraged to consider donating blood plasma to help others.
“I was one of the first people at the centre to donate convalescent plasma specifically for COVID-19 patients, and I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I had donated blood before, but this is different. The blood is centrifuged and returned to you, which means it takes a bit longer than blood donation, but I felt fine afterwards because you don’t reduce your blood volume or red blood cell count.
The screening process is quite extensive, as they need to establish if you have therapeutic levels of neutralizing antibodies to benefit patients. Although I was exposed to COVID-19 seven months ago, my antibody levels have remained high, so I am trying to donate as often as I can, because I suspect that my levels will not remain therapeutic forever.”
11:08
Scotland: Dentists can help deliver COVID-19 vaccinations
The Scottish Government has announced that Health Boards and Integration Authorities will take the lead role in providing the COVID-19 Immunisation Programme for 2020/21, and dentists may be contacted by their Health Board about possible participation in the programme.
It will not be mandatory for NHS dental contractors to participate in the programme and exact arrangements will vary between Boards. A CMO letter will provide the clinical arrangements for the programme. Participating dentists will be located at a vaccination hub to undertake this work and will be expected to explain the vaccine to patients, gain their consent and then administer the vaccination.
Dentists who decide to opt-in to the programme will be advised about local arrangements for the immunisation programme, including provision of appropriate PPE, stock control and distribution of vaccines and appropriate monitoring arrangements. Online training will be organised by NHS Education for Scotland and NHS Boards will arrange an additional half day training session. Dental practitioners will be acting on behalf of the Board and will be indemnified through the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS).
It is envisaged that a large proportion of the vaccination programme will be delivered in early 2021. A sessional fee will be offered to contractors participating in the programme which will be set at £230 per contractor. The Scottish Government has agreed this fee with the BDA’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee.
Monday 30 November 2020
17:33
Scotland: Payments to all NHS dental staff
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Jeane Freeman,
reached out to us today to announce that all NHS staff in Scotland – including dentists and their teams – will receive a one-off payment of £500 (pro-rata for part-time staff) in recognition of their efforts during the pandemic.
It is good to see the hard work of NHS dentists and their teams being recognised. However, after a decade of pay restraint, we believe the best way to reward front line staff is through a long-term approach to pay, building on recent above-inflation awards. We will discuss the logistics of the payments with the Scottish Government this week and will provide you with more information once it is available.
14:25
This is the wrong time for increased NHS charges
We have strongly criticised the
latest 5% increase in NHS dental charges in England announced last week. We are concerned that it sees the government erecting further barriers to care during the COVID pandemic, when services remain so limited and focused on dealing with an unprecedented backlog. The increase means:
- A routine check-up will increase by £1.10 from £22.70 to £23.80
- Treatments such as root canals or removing teeth will rise by £3.10 from £62.10 to £65.20
- More complex procedures like crowns, dentures and bridges rise from by £13.50 from £269.30 to £282.80.
The fee increase, originally slated for 1 April, was postponed by the first wave of the pandemic, will now take effect from 14 December 2020. Dave Cottam, Chair of the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice said: "Slapping higher charges on patients struggling to secure care in the middle of a pandemic is utterly wrongheaded. This inflation-busting hike won’t put an extra penny into a service in crisis or help millions currently unable to get an appointment."
14:00
Clarity sought following Chancellor's spending review
Last week the Chancellor set out his spending review for the year ahead, following the unprecedented downturn in the economy caused by COVID since March.
There was not a great amount of initial detail on how this may impact dentistry, but we have pulled out a few highlights:
- Bucking the trend of a general public sector pay freeze, nurses, doctors and others working in the NHS will receive a pay rise. We are seeking urgent clarification as to whether this will apply to dental practitioners, who have seen a real-terms pay cut over the past decade.
- A £2.3 billion capital investment fund for the NHS has been announced for COVID recovery. We will use this announcement to continue to
push for capital investment in ventilation for dental surgeries in order to reduce the fallow time and get more patients through the door.
- Conspicuous by its absence was public health. Nothing was earmarked in terms of grants to local authorities for public health projects. We
joined with leading health groups to make clear to the Chancellor that failure to address years of savage cuts is a false economy. Projects such as supervised tooth-brushing for children are essential to mitigate the effects of increasingly poor access to NHS dentistry now prevalent throughout much of England, due to the double whammy of COVID restrictions and a failed contract.
We will keep you posted as we continue to fight on your behalf for a better deal for dentists.
10:30
How to refer your staff for a COVID-19 test
The government provides guidance on
how essential workers can get tested for COVID-19. Employers can refer essential workers for testing if they are self-isolating because either they or members of their household have coronavirus symptoms. You can do this by uploading the names and contact details of self-isolating essential workers to the secure employer referral portal.
To get a login to the employer referral portal, employers of essential workers should email
portalservicedesk@dhsc.gov.uk with the following information:
- organisation name
- nature of the organisation’s business
- region
- names (where possible) and email addresses of the two users who will load essential worker contact details.
Once employer details have been verified, two login credentials will be provided for the employer referral portal, and you may upload your employees names for testing. Referred essential workers will then receive a text message with a unique invitation code to
book a test for themselves (if symptomatic) or their symptomatic household members at a regional testing site.
