Friday 11 December 2020
17:32
Dentistry in the news this week
We're speaking to national and local media daily to represent you and your interests. Here's some of the
coverage we've received this week:
The Times: Our analysis of more than 19 million missed treatment this year due to lockdown was covered. BDA Scientific Advisor, Professor Damien Walmsley stated, “We don’t want to go back to Victorian times, and people doing their own dentistry."
Derby Telegraph: We backed calls from Healthwatch urging the Government to resolve long standing and COVID-related issues. BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said, “For many people dentistry effectively ceased to exist at lockdown, as a system already in crisis was pushed ever closer to the brink.”
talkRADIO: BDA scientific adviser, Professor Damien Walmsley expressed concern over the likely backlog of patients with mouth cancer that dentists would usual detect. Asserting “We need to get dentistry back into ‘normal’ and working to ensure prevention.” (Not available online)
We will continue to voice your concerns in the media and campaign on your behalf.
15:59
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.
15:55
Wales: Government’s funding commitment to help secure new equipment
We welcome the
Welsh Government’s commitment to offer capital funding to help dental practices secure new equipment to expand patient numbers.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething MS has agreed a funding package of £450,000 in 2020-21 to support dental practices in improving surgery ventilation. The BDA had
appealed to all four UK governments to provide support, and has welcomed the Welsh Government’s leadership on the issue.
Dr Katrina Clarke, Chair of British Dental Association’s Welsh Council said: "The Health Minister has shown real leadership in getting dentistry back up and running. We look to the authorities in Westminster, Belfast and Edinburgh to do the same."
11:05
Associate pay disputes - what you need to know
Associate dentist, Sarah Canavan discusses what happened when the BDA started a pay dispute resolution service for Associate dentists during the first lockdown.
Coronavirus: advice for associates
08:43
Scotland: Update on PPE supplies
We have raised a number of concerns with NSS in recent weeks about the reliability of PPE supplies to dental practices, and reports of low pass rates for face fitting.
In response, NHS National Services Scotland has
written to dentists with an update on the supply of FFP3 masks and face fitting. The letter sets out the scale of the challenge facing National Procurement in providing all NHS practices with PPE, and details the range of masks available in every NHS Board in Scotland.
Thursday 10 December 2020
14:45
Brexit and Northern Ireland: Dental practices need an XI EORI number
At an EU Transition stakeholder event hosted by the Department of Health last night, we were informed that many dentists in Northern Ireland will need to apply for an XI EORI number. If your practice does any low-level trade with GB, such as sending impressions to labs in Scotland, you need to prepare for the post-transition period by:
We recommend you move quickly to do this to avoid encountering delays, as enrolment will be handled manually from 14 December. To get an EORI number that starts with XI, you must already have an EORI number that starts with GB. If you do not have one,
apply for an EORI number that starts with GB as soon as possible.
See the
NI Customs and Trade Academy for more information, or take a look at our
Brexit section for more on Brexit and dentistry.
13:34
Have you applied to the EU Settlement Scheme?
The Government has set up the
EU Settlement Scheme for EU/EEA nationals living in the UK. Any dentists or staff members who are EU/EEA nationals need to apply to the scheme before 30 June 2021 in order to remain in the UK without the need for future visa status, unless they have obtained citizenship or are
citizens of the Republic of Ireland.
This includes individuals who have previously applied for residency in the UK; their status will be converted to the new scheme, but they must apply. From 1 January 2021, the UK Government intends to treat newly arrived EU citizens the same as citizens from elsewhere, requiring them to comply with a
new points-based system. If you are an EU/EEA national already living in the UK, make sure you are signed up to the EU Settlement Scheme.
13:30
Brexit and dentistry: Recruiting staff from abroad
Practices looking to recruit staff from EU/EEA countries going forward should note that from 1 January 2021 processes are changing. From that date, EU citizens, with the exception of citizens of the Republic of Ireland, will need to comply with a
new points-based system.
This new Skilled Worker route is based on awarding points for qualifications, language ability, job offer and includes salary thresholds. Practices need to be aware that this process may mean more red tape, delays and costs for all involved especially if they were used to recruiting from the EU to fulfil their workforce needs.
Dental practices and their owners will need to take on the role of sponsor for dentists from abroad as they have done for those from outside the EU and will be responsible for the associated costs.
Skilled worker visa arrangements will usually, though not always, need to be on the basis of an employment contract; therefore practices may need to work with more employed, rather than self-employed, dentists in the future.
For more information on Brexit and dentistry please see our
Brexit section.
12:18
Brexit and dentistry: Qualifications and workforce impacts
Around 16-17% of the UK dentist workforce is registered on the basis of an EU/EEA degree; this includes UK citizens who have studied in Europe. The registration of those currently registered should not be jeopardised by Brexit. For up to two years, the GDC will recognise dental qualifications obtained in EU countries while it considers a new approach.
The arrangements for assessment and recognition of non-UK dental qualifications beyond this time scale are currently unclear and the GDC will be looking at this over the next two years in conjunction with the government. It has so far not been formally confirmed how processes to join the dental performers lists (England and Wales) will be affected in the future.
See our
Brexit section for more information on Brexit and dentistry.
10:10
Travel, testing and self-isolation
If you have travelled anywhere, our advice is to check whether you are returning from one of the
countries which are exempt from the quarantine guidelines. If you are in Scotland, please refer to the specific
advice from the Scottish Government (Northern Ireland and Wales currently follow the same guidelines as England). If the country is not on the exempt list, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
If you or your staff are planning to travel this festive season, you should also note that from 15 December, you can take a test (five days after leaving a non-listed country) to see if you can stop isolating for the full 14 day period.
- If you get a negative test result, you did not have the virus when the test was done. If you are self-isolating as an international arrival, you may stop self-isolating.
- If you get a positive test result, you had the virus when the test was done. If you have no symptoms of coronavirus, you must self-isolate for 10 days from your test date. If you have symptoms of coronavirus, you must self-isolate for 10 days from the day your symptoms started, if earlier than when you took your test. People you live with or are travelling with should also self-isolate for 14 days from the day you took the test.
- If your coronavirus test result is unclear, you must, by law, continue self-isolating for the remainder of your self-isolation period. If you want to shorten your self-isolation period you will need to take another test.
For more information on testing, contact tracing and the dental team, see our
FAQs.
09:25
Brexit and dentistry: Data sharing and protection
Does your practice share data with organisations in the EU? Or do you use cloud IT services which store or process their data in the EU? If so, we recommend you review the
guidance documents provided by the
Information Commissioner’s Office on Brexit and data sharing and protection.
For businesses that do not share data with others based in the EU, there is no action to be taken. However, businesses or organisations that receive personal data from contacts in the EU need to take extra steps to ensure that the data can continue to flow at the end of the transition period, 31 December 2020. See our
Brexit section for more information on Brexit and dentistry.
Wednesday 9 December 2020
14:38
Calls to fix a system in crisis
We have
backed calls from Healthwatch for the Government to act on the ongoing crisis in dental services in England that has been cast into stark relief by the COVID-19 pandemic. In
its latest report, the group highlights an unprecedented 452% rise in calls and complaints about dentistry over the summer, urging Government to act to resolve “both long-standing and COVID-related issues in dentistry.”
14.5 million fewer NHS dental procedures took place in England, between March and the end of August. We estimate that figure rose to over 19 million by the end of October.
Reflecting on this, BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said: “For many people dentistry effectively ceased to exist at lockdown, as a system already in crisis was pushed ever closer to the brink...The arrival of COVID vaccines will not solve the problems facing millions of our patients... The Government says the mantra is ‘build back better’. It must apply that logic to dental services.”
We have also written to Jeremy Hunt to urge a reopening of the inquiry into dentistry.
13:05
Northern Ireland: Moving dentistry forward
In a recent blog, Tristen Kelso, BDA Northern Ireland Director, looks at how he and his team have kept decision makers and influencers fully informed of the challenges dentists are facing during the pandemic, and reflects on why this is the right time for dentistry in Northern Ireland to move forward.
“At key times during this crisis, when hope was in extremely short supply, an additional £3.8m PPE funding and an extra £5m to maintain the Financial Support Scheme (FSS) to the end of the financial year were achieved. Collectively, we shouted out, and the politicians heard us…We continue to raise the voice of private dentistry, and call out the unacceptable lack of support from the NI Executive.”
“If ever there was an opportunity to move dentistry forward in Northern Ireland, it is now at a time when the political, media and public interest in dentistry is high. That will be our aim as we end 2020 and look forward into 2021.”
13:00
Northern Ireland: CDS must be prioritised
Laura Orr has outlined the challenges facing the Community Dentist Service in Northern Ireland and the case for urgent action in a recent blog:
“The CDS is far from alone in feeling the effects of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has come under unique and unrelenting pressure to not only sustain and rebuild their valuable core services, but to coordinate and deliver the work of the Urgent Dental Care Centres.”
“We’re urging the Department of Health to look to the future of the CDS. The Department must tackle the systemic issues which the service faces, if they wish to ensure that some of the most vulnerable patients in Northern Ireland will have access to the treatment they need in the future.”
12:55
Wales: Government’s funding commitment to help secure new equipment
We welcome the
Welsh Government’s commitment to offer capital funding to help dental practices secure new equipment to expand patient numbers.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething MS has agreed a funding package of £450,000 in 2020-21 to support dental practices in improving surgery ventilation. The BDA had
appealed to all four UK governments to provide support, and has welcomed the Welsh Government’s leadership on the issue.
Dr Katrina Clarke, Chair of British Dental Association’s Welsh Council said: "The Health Minister has shown real leadership in getting dentistry back up and running. We look to the authorities in Westminster, Belfast and Edinburgh to do the same."
12:03
Brexit and dentistry: The transition period ends soon
The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020 and entered an 11-month transition period during which it continued to follow existing arrangements while negotiating a future free trade deal and wider relationship. This transition period comes to an end at 11pm on 31 December 2020.
From that moment on, EU legislative arrangements currently in place for movement of goods, people and services will no longer apply to the UK, and access to, and inclusion in EU regulatory and support systems will also cease.
The changes will apply differently to Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and to Northern Ireland, because the Withdrawal Agreement’s Northern Ireland Protocol will see certain EU arrangements and legislative requirements continue to apply in Northern Ireland.
For more information on how this is likely to affect dentistry see our
Brexit section on:
- Workforce and recognition of qualifications
- Immigration arrangements
- Medicines and medical devices
- The Irish border
- Data sharing and data protection
- Research and development.
Tuesday 8 December 2020
16:30
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.
13:38
DFT: change to preferencing timelines announced
This week DFT applicants and training practices should have received a communication from the DFT National Recruitment Office (NRO) advising them that preferencing of dental schemes will be delayed until 2021.
11:50
Public health cuts hitting the poorest
Today the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has revealed how savage cuts to public health funding have hit England's poorest communities.
Levelling Up Health for Prosperity reveals average cuts of £13.20 per person across England, reaching much higher levels in the Midlands and across the North of England.
Recent surveys have shown a
tenfold difference in the severity of tooth decay between the richest and most deprived communities in England.
Oral health programmes have experienced deep cuts over recent years. Our Dental Public Health Chair
Rob Witton examines some of the issues in his recent blog.
Monday 7 December 2020
15:55
Northern Ireland: Our response to the CDS enhanced rate
On Friday
we wrote to the Health Minister to voice our utter disappointment at the determined CDS enhanced rate, and the process by which it was reached.
This determination has decimated staff morale and confidence in the delivery of the DoH.
Staffing of Urgent Dental Centres (UDCs) will undoubtedly be negatively affected from the unsatisfactory handling of this issue.
We are calling on the Minister to engage with his Finance Minister colleague examine how a repeat of this episode could be avoided, and more timely and satisfactory ways of addressing pay issues can be delivered.
14:56
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.”
Read Eddie Crouch's blog: COVID-19 and dentistry: Eight lessons that must be learnt
13:15
Get clinical content straight to your inbox
Our clinical newsletter brings you the latest clinical content every month.
December’s special edition looked at the most-accessed papers in the BDJ this year:
- The use of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) in dental practice
- Medical emergencies in the dental practice poster: revised and updated
- Recommendations and guidelines for dentists using the basic erosive wear examination index (BEWE)
In November, we looked at
minimal intervention, another hot topic for the profession in recent years.
Members can be the first to receive this content by ticking yes for the
clinical newsletter. Non-members can sign up to receive an abridged version.
12:57
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.
