In the letter, the UK Dental Software Suppliers Association, stress that its members are not in a position to rollout proposed changes to the NHS Dental Services Portal (DSP). It states: “The scale and operational complexity of the transition to the DSP — spanning multiple regions, contract types, and existing practice workflows — means that supplier commitment cannot responsibly be given without a number of critical pre-conditions being met. To proceed without these in place would risk disruption to NHS dental claiming, payment processing, and patient care at a time when the dental access landscape is already under considerable pressure.”
This software will underpin dentists’ ability to accurately record and claim payment for courses of treatment.
The DSSA go onto stress “major system changes require a minimum of six months' notice from the point at which final technical specifications are agreed.” Implementation was originally set to take place this summer.
BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said: “This ham-fisted approach to implementation risks undermining the ability to thousands of practices to deliver patient care.”
The professional body warn this is indicative of the lack of priority and focus across government on dentistry. In April, Ministers told parliament that a consultation on fundamental reform of the discredited contract fuelling the crisis in NHS dentistry was coming "before this summer." This month, its arrival time has been downgraded to "in due course."