Reform of NHS Dental Services
The Scottish Government is engaging in a process to develop and shape a revised Determination 1 of the Statement of Dental Remuneration.
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, in his letter of 28 June 2022, outlined plans to set up a CDO Advisory Group as part of the reform programme. NHS Boards put forward nominees from their Board areas from the dentists and members of the dental team, who volunteered to participate.
The Advisory Group was established to provide short life consultative comments and advice to the Chief Dental Officer (CDO) about the development and shape of a revised Determination I.
Representatives from the BDA Scottish Dental Practice Committee and Scottish Government will engage in meetings on payment reform for the revised Determination 1 and this work is due to start in January 2023.
Notes of all the Advisory Group workshops and the BDA and Scottish Government representative meetings, will be in the public domain and can be found here.
Notes of the meetings between BDA and Scottish Government representatives will be agreed by both parties.
Correspondence with Scottish Government Ministers and the CDO
2022
Letter from Cabinet Secretary dated 23 September – next steps for multiplier reform
Letter to Cabinet Secretary dated 5 September – waiting lists for paediatric extractions under general anaesthetic
Letter from CDO dated 19 July – reminder about SG NHS survey and CDO Advisory Group
Letter to Cabinet Secretary dated 13 July – dismay at reduction of IoS multiplier
Letter from Cabinet Secretary dated 28 June - next steps for multiplier reform
Letter to CDO dated 15 June – retaining IoS multiplier at its current level
Letter from CDO dated 4 April – changes to IPC Standard Operating Procedures
Letter from CDO dated 1 April – de-escalation of Covid-19 IPC measures
2021
Letter from CDO dated 20 December – managing the impact of Covid-19 over the Winter period
Letter from CDO dated 7 December – Infection, protection and control mitigations update
Letter from Cabinet Secretary dated 21 October – emergency funding support to be withdrawn by 1 April 2022.
Letter from CDO dated 10 September - Clarification on requirements of eligible equipment for the improvement allowance for electric speed adjusting hand pieces.
Letter to Cabinet Secretary dated 3 September – concerns regarding launch of free NHS dental care for 18-25 year olds on 24 August.
Letter from Cabinet Secretary dated 20 August – implementation of 100-day commitment to remove NHS dental charges for young people
Letter from CDO dated 13 August – DDRB recommendation.
Letter from CDO dated 8 July – review of IPC guidance.
Letter from CDO dated 29 June – activity measurements linked to Covid financial support suspended for NHS dental practices
Letter from CDO dated 21 June – SAPG-D recommendations on antibiotic prescribing
Letter from CDO dated 9 June – ventilation funding confirmed for NHS dental practices
Letter to Minister dated 3 June – joint letter from Scottish craft committee Chairs to highlight concerns about a range of issues, many of which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
Letter to Minister on 10 March and
reply dated 14 April re issues affecting dentists across Scotland
COVID-19 pandemic
Regular updates are provided via
Coronavirus live updates.
PPE
Scotland: Update on PPE: Update on arrangements for PPE allocation in Scotland.
IPC
Scotland: Update on IPC: Updated FAQs on the NIPCM and SOP guidance in Scotland
Blogs
Scotland: Opening doors for students - How is the new bursary scheme in Scotland benefitting dental students and what other support is available to them?
Scotland: Putting dentistry on the political agenda - How our oral health manifesto is shaping election debate and what else the next Scottish Government needs to do to bridge oral health inequalities.
Scotland: Putting PDS in the spotlight - Graham Smith, Chair of the Scottish PDS Committee, highlights the massive backlog of unmet dental need and the future capacity concerns.
Scotland: COVID-19 impacts dental education and training - What impact has the pandemic had on dental education and training in Scotland? Colin Levey of the University of Dundee investigates.
Scotland: Our ongoing fight for dentists - David McColl outlines 10 things BDA Scotland is doing on your behalf right now and why it’s vital that we stick together.
BDA Scotland Manifesto
BDA Scotland has now published its 2021 Manifesto:
Bridging the Gap: Tackling Oral Health Inequalities and is calling on the incoming Scottish Parliament to pledge its support for a five-point plan for better oral health in Scotland:
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Address the backlog of unmet dental care need
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Promote prevention to help tackle oral health inequalities
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Ensure NHS dentistry remains sustainable
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Improve access for vulnerable groups
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Integrate oral health with wider public health priorities.
Mental health and wellbeing resources
We are acutely aware of the growing impact the Coronavirus pandemic is having on your professional and personal lives. In light of this, BDA Scotland has been working with the Scottish Government to produce a
mental health and wellbeing resource for dentists and their teams across Scotland.
The compilation highlights guidance and wide support resources available for you as and when you may need it. It includes a range of UK-wide resources including the NHS Occupational Health Advice and Guidance Services which we secured, alongside the Scottish Dental Practice Committee, in 2018 to support dentists and their teams. The service is delivered through the NHS Boards.
The new resource has also been published on
Scottish Dental.
Please see our campaign Tackling stress in dentistry for more information.
Scottish Government PCAs