Friday 10 July 2020
19:30
Weekly round-up
Here's my weekly round-up of the major things that happened this week in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and UK dentistry. I hope you find it useful.
Useful links:
16:25
Scotland: Further details about the return to dentistry from 13 July
Following the Chief Dental Officer's letter yesterday, the Scottish Government has issued a Memorandum to dentists with further details about Phase 3 of the return to dentistry from 13 July.
The Memorandum includes information on: preparation of surgeries; aerosol-generating procedures; PPE; financial support; the revised Statement of Dental Remuneration (which will be issued separately); and closing courses of treatment.
14:45
General practice contract in England
Despite months of discussion and repeated requests, we are still waiting for confirmation from NHS England of the abatement to be applied to NHS contract values for the period up to 8 June. GDPC Chair
Dave Cottam wrote this morning to Minister Jo Churchill to express our frustration at these unacceptable ongoing delays. We anticipate confirmation about the abatement early next week, as well as clarity around the contractual provisions being applied in the current circumstances following the resumption of face-to-face care.
14:25
Risk assessment guidance update
We have updated our
COVID-19 risk assessment guidance for members
to include issues of consent and the importance of note-taking. Your records are the only sure method of demonstrating the consent process which will inevitably evolve over the period you are treating the patient; remembering also that the patient can withdraw their consent at any point.
11:35
Take our short survey (closes on Monday)
Our new survey sets out to identify the pressure on all practices, including those with mixed and private income streams.
Jason Wong, the new Deputy Chief Dental Officer for England is leading a group looking at these issues, with input from all four nations and a range of dental organisations.
We’re surveying dentists to inform the group’s recommendations. It’s only open until next Monday, so please take five minutes to
complete this short survey as soon as you can.
10:10
Northern Ireland: Officials questioned on dentistry issues
The acting CDO Michael Donaldson and Paul Montgomery, DOH appeared before the Assembly Health Committee yesterday in order to to respond to a
series of dentistry issues raised by the BDA during an evidence session on 25 June.
Following a robust evidence session, the Health Committee agreed to raise a number of issues with the Health Minister, including the difficulties practices are facing in accessing Level II PPE, FSS and maternity issues and evidence-based decisions on fallow times.
Other concerns raised with the DoH officials related to the closure of UDCs during weekdays from 29 July, morale within the dental profession, the need for a new oral health strategy in NI and prioritisation of dentistry by DoH.
You can
watch this Assembly Health Committee session (from the start to 1:35:12).
09:30
Scotland: Next phase of the return to dentistry from 13 July
The Chief Dental Officer has written to dentists to set out the
arrangements for Phase 3 of the return to dentistry from 13 July. The letter includes several of our suggestions to the CDO regarding addressing dentists’ concerns.
In effect, little will change in Phase 3. Dentists will be able to see patients for routine care but any treatments requiring an aerosol-generating procedure (AGP) will still be referred to the urgent dental centres (UDCs). We have also urged the Scottish Government and NHS Boards to manage patients’ expectations about what treatments they can receive.
While we welcomed the additional funding outlined in the letter – an extra 30% to the General Dental Practice Allowance and a 30% increase to the GDPA cap – we argued that this support did not go far enough.
Next week the Scottish Government will issue an official memorandum which will include further details about Phase 3, and a revised Statement of Dental Remuneration.
We will continue to meet with the CDO and Scottish Government regularly to make the case for dentists.
Thursday 9 July 2020
14:25
Scotland: Dentists need additional funding and clear communicating for phased reopening
We have called on the Scottish Government to take responsibility to manage patient expectations, after the First Minister confirmed that dental practices will be able to offer routine care using non-aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) from 13 July.
As practices will still only provide a limited range of treatments and will not be carrying out routine examinations, we have stressed the need for clear and consistent communication from the Government and NHS Boards.
We are deeply aware that dentists' costs have increased as practices began reopening last month. The Scottish Government has announced additional funding for the latest phase of reopening – a 30% increase in General Dental Practice Allowance. While this funding is welcome, it is insufficient to restore practice income to pre-COVID levels and could see some practices struggle to remain viable. We want to see additional funding offered, given the financial pressures facing mixed NHS-private practices with a high percentage of private income.
The Scottish Government has also issued a revised Statement of Dental Remuneration (SDR) for the next phase of reopening. While we welcomed the inclusion of triage activity in the SDR, we are still concerned about the lack of funding for lab bills and the reduced level of care that GDPs are able to provide when routine examinations restart in phase 3.
David McColl, Chair of the Scottish Dental Practice Committee said: "The Scottish Government has a responsibility to manage patient expectations. Yes, we are moving to the next phase of reopening, but very little will change in terms of the treatments we can offer to our patients."
14:05
Survey: Practices under pressure
Face to face care is resuming across the UK, with practices faces an unfeasible mix of lower patient numbers and higher costs.
We know colleagues need support to survive the ‘new normal’. And we need your feedback to shape the case we're making to all four UK governments.
So please take five minutes to
complete this short survey.
13:40
Fallow time report due this week
The current public health advice across the UK is that most dental surgeries should remain fallow for one hour after an aerosol generating procedure, for reasons of infection prevention and control. This has caused some concern given its impact on the economics of providing care and the limited evidence available for dentistry.
A short life working group involving collaboration of public health agencies across the UK has been investigating the fallow period, including a piece of research in dental settings. That working group is now finishing its work and we anticipate it to report at the end of this week.
Wednesday 8 July 2020
17:20
BDJ: Research and opinion on COVID-19 and dentistry
The latest issue of the BDJ contains new research and opinion on the topic of COVID-19 and dentistry. This includes pieces on:
- The impact of COVID-19 on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) members of the dental profession
- Domestic violence, COVID-19 and urgent dental, oral and maxillofacial care (open access)
- A comparison of the British and South Korean primary dental care response to COVID-19.
See the
BDJ's collection of Coronavirus content to read these articles and to look back at the COVID-19 content they've produced.
16:40
Scotland: Three ways we are campaigning for dentists
While many dentists in Scotland have been returning to work since 22 June, for others the prospect of reopening their practice is simply unfeasible. Higher costs and lower patient numbers mean dentists have to weigh up the risks and make their own decisions. We want better than that for dentists. We want to offer reassurance and stability and to keep Scottish dentistry viable.
BDA Scotland Director Dr Philip Grigor outlines
three things we are fighting for right now.
16:15
Wales: Our evidence to the Senedd Health Committee
Last week our chair of the WGDPC, Tom Bysouth and colleagues, presented evidence to the Welsh Senedd Health Committee regarding the state of dentistry in Wales during the pandemic.
We told the committee that while high street dentists want to see their patients, many practices will not survive the combination of higher costs and lower patient numbers without financial support. We also made a strong case for private dentistry which has been left to fend for itself and is now already facing redundancies, especially as furlough unwinds.
Meanwhile, despite continued NHS funding, and the very welcome suspension of activity targets, mixed-contract and NHS providers are still operating at a loss. This is not a sustainable financial situation. Dentistry in Wales requires urgent support if it is to remain viable.
As we set out to the Senedd Health Committee, here are
10 things that we believe must change across dentistry in Wales if we are to save this service.
12:50
Returning to face-to-face care
Our
returning to face-to-face care toolkits support dentists to reopen as safely and efficiently as possible.
England: The latest version for England includes essential updates on ventilation/air con, antibody testing, letter template to staff whose time is split between part-time work and furlough, plus information on NHS sick pay where associates are considered ‘extremely vulnerable’.
Scotland: We have adapted our toolkit for members in Scotland. It is designed to complement the SDCEP guidance, and contains additional practical advice on various issues, including indemnity, employment relations, and staff terms and conditions.
Wales: We have adapted our toolkit for members in Wales. It is to be used alongside the Welsh Government’s guidance to help dental teams complete Assessment of Clinical Oral Risks and Needs (ACORN) forms for patients, both routine and urgent.
10:05
Get all the latest developments in your inbox
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Tuesday 7 July 2020
15:45
Wales: New toolkit for dental practices
From 1 July dentists have been allowed to offer more treatments in practice and the criteria for urgent care have been relaxed. Practices can now be at heightened amber status and only offering non-AGPs, or in low amber status and offering AGPs as well, as long as they are set up and signed off by the relevant authority.
To support you in this, we have adapted our
toolkit for members in Wales. It is to be used alongside the Welsh Government’s guidance to help dental teams complete
Assessment of Clinical Oral Risks and Needs (ACORN) forms for patients, both routine and urgent.
12:50
Fallow time report due this week
The current public health advice across the UK is that most dental surgeries should remain fallow for one hour after an aerosol generating procedure, for reasons of infection prevention and control. This has caused some concern given its impact on the economics of providing care and the limited evidence available for dentistry.
A short life working group involving collaboration of public health agencies across the UK has been investigating the fallow period, including a piece of research in dental settings. That working group is now finishing its work and we anticipate it to report at the end of this week.
10:55
Podcast on dentistry and COVID-19
Len D’Cruz from
BDA Indemnity recently spoke to Law Pod UK about the challenges facing dentistry during the pandemic.
Put together by the barristers at 1 Crown Office Row, this
podcast sees Len interviewed by Rosalind English on the various challenges faced by the profession during lockdown and the issues inherent in re-opening. It sees him bring dentistry’s new reality - PPE and infection control - to a wider audience.
Monday 6 July 2020
16:10
BDA Library: Resources on COVID-19 and dentistry
Our library building remains closed to visitors due to the pandemic, however many of our services are still available to members. We invite you to
download e-books from the library and remind you that our literature search and document supply services are still available.
We’ve also put together a package of
research into COVID-19 and dentistry to support you. As we mark the
library’s centenary year, we continue to look for new ways to support the research and learning of dentists and dental students.
13:25
Supporting you with risk assessments
Our new
risk assessment course is designed to give you the confidence and tools you need to decide appropriate safety measures for your practice (1 hour CPD).
It will teach you how to:
- Evaluate risks in your practice using the 5-step Risk Assessment process
- Apply the Hierarchy of Control method for making risk control decisions
- Examine risk and control measures in the context of common issues facing practices at the moment
- Construct a justifiable, documented risk assessment for your working circumstances, based on your professional judgement.
This short but comprehensive course is only available to BDA members. It’s the latest addition to our
package of member resources on re-opening and risk assessment.
13:15
PPE and fit-testing: what you need to know
Dentists have two important challenges in terms of PPE and COVID-19. The first is sourcing the right equipment. The second is getting it correctly fitted.
In his blog, Tarik Shembesh, a dentist who is leading the fit-testing program in London's urgent dental centres, shares
10 things you need to know about fit-testing PPE and the dental practice.
10:50
VAT cut on PPE extended
HM Treasury has announced that the temporary
scrapping of VAT on PPE has been extended until the end of October. We have campaigned for and welcome the extension of this cut. However, as our Chair Mick Armstrong made clear to Parliament's Health and Social Care Committee last week,
a lot more needs to be done to support dentistry which faces an existential crisis in the wake of COVID-19.
