By David Williams
29 June 2009
Proposed reforms to stop dental patients being forced into the private sector have been cautiously welcomed by health professionals.
An independent review led by Professor Jimmy Steele recommended that part of dentists’ income be linked to the numbers of NHS patients on their books.
The report proposes that quality of care and preventative treatment should become priorities, and that dentists should be more accountable for the standard of care they provide.
Steele also criticised an overemphasis on the numbers of ‘drill and fill’ procedures carried out. Health Secretary Andy Burnham accepted the findings in principle.
The reforms, announced on June 22, are the second shake-up of dental services in the NHS in three years. A new contract, introduced by the Department of Health in 2006, paid practitioners the same amount for treating fewer people. It led to patients being turned away from two out of every three surgeries. Within a year, 2 million people were reportedly without an NHS dentist.
John Milne, chair of the British Dental Association’s committee on general dental practice, said: ‘We have an opportunity to learn from the difficulties of 2006.
‘The report’s recommendations appear to be far-reaching. They describe a new approach to dental care that dentists hope will mean a move away from the target-driven arrangements that are currently in place. Clearly, the detail will be vital.’
David Stout, director of the Primary Care Trust Network, said: ‘We welcome this review’s proposal to pilot linking dentists’ income to patient registration. It is right that NHS dentists should be held accountable for the quality of care they provide, but this will require development of a more accurate measurement of what good quality care looks like.
‘We welcome the proposal to move to a more equitable funding of dental care for PCTs. However, to significantly improve access to NHS dentistry would require additional national investment.’
The Conservatives said the review’s shift from ‘dental activity’ to ‘oral health’ was an endorsement of earlier Tory policy. However Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb warned that future reforms must be piloted vigorously.
29 June 2009
Proposed reforms to stop dental patients being forced into the private sector have been cautiously welcomed by health professionals.
An independent review led by Professor Jimmy Steele recommended that part of dentists’ income be linked to the numbers of NHS patients on their books.
The report proposes that quality of care and preventative treatment should become priorities, and that dentists should be more accountable for the standard of care they provide.
Steele also criticised an overemphasis on the numbers of ‘drill and fill’ procedures carried out. Health Secretary Andy Burnham accepted the findings in principle.
The reforms, announced on June 22, are the second shake-up of dental services in the NHS in three years. A new contract, introduced by the Department of Health in 2006, paid practitioners the same amount for treating fewer people. It led to patients being turned away from two out of every three surgeries. Within a year, 2 million people were reportedly without an NHS dentist.
John Milne, chair of the British Dental Association’s committee on general dental practice, said: ‘We have an opportunity to learn from the difficulties of 2006.
‘The report’s recommendations appear to be far-reaching. They describe a new approach to dental care that dentists hope will mean a move away from the target-driven arrangements that are currently in place. Clearly, the detail will be vital.’
David Stout, director of the Primary Care Trust Network, said: ‘We welcome this review’s proposal to pilot linking dentists’ income to patient registration. It is right that NHS dentists should be held accountable for the quality of care they provide, but this will require development of a more accurate measurement of what good quality care looks like.
‘We welcome the proposal to move to a more equitable funding of dental care for PCTs. However, to significantly improve access to NHS dentistry would require additional national investment.’
The Conservatives said the review’s shift from ‘dental activity’ to ‘oral health’ was an endorsement of earlier Tory policy. However Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb warned that future reforms must be piloted vigorously.
