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Jimmy joins dental leaders in ‘implementing Steele review’ debate

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Jimmy Steele led independent review

A dental seminar is being staged more than a year on from the publication of Professor Jimmy Steele's independent review of NHS dental services last June.

And dental teams from across the UK are invited to attend to hear guests of honour – Dr John Milne, chair of the  BDA's General Dental Practice Committee, Dr Susie Sanderson, chair of the BDA's Executive Board, and Professor Jimmy Steele himself, head of school and Professor of Oral Health Services Research at Newcastle University – discuss the planned route for NHS dentistry.

With the work of the Steele Implementation Programme ongoing, the seminar will examine the implementation process and the future of dental services including provision, quality and the future of the dental practitioner.

Also speaking will Justin Ash, chief executive of dental chain, Oasis Healthcare. More speakers will be announced closer to the event, taking place on Tuesday 16 November 2010.

Organisers say they expect to attend members of both Houses of Parliament, senior government officials involved in this area of public policy, NHS and other clinical practitioners in dentistry, as well as representatives of the healthcare, technology and pharmaceutical industries, together with their advisors, health charities and interest groups and academics.
 
To book tickets to the Westminster Health Forum Keynote Seminar – The future of dentistry – implementing the Steele review, go to the online booking form by clicking here.

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There is no money (see note from Liam Bryne to his successor). Anything - and I really mean anything - which costs money will be kicked so far into the long grass you will need airborne radar to find it. Except that the RAF procurement programme will be slashed so much there probably won't be any airborne radar available............. :-) ...

--This post was last edited on 19/5/10 at 17:24--

Posted by drstephenmorris 19/5/10 at 16:01

Nhs dentistry should be made a pain relief service only for adults.
Free treatment for children upto the age of 16, possibly related to parents means.
Severely disabled or infirmed should also get free treatment in the community.
I was at the Steele review meeting in Birmingham and suggested this. He replied a pain relief service would cost about £50 million per annum.
There we go £2 billion a year cut already!

Posted by richard8466 19/5/10 at 21:26

richard8466 - I agree. Whether or not Prof Steele likes it (and he's a very decent guy, but with zippo experience of running a small business aka a dental practice), we are going very quickly down the route of the opticians. Over the last few days, we think many patients are 'reading the runes'. Applications to join our practice with Denplan Essentials are running at levels not seen since we abandoned the NHS except for children in 2006. I'd love to think this is as a result of a marketing plan we have been doing involving £20 M&S vouchers, but suspect it's really as some of the middle classes have realised that if they don't join a system which is proven to work, they might have trouble with a capital 'T' getting their dental needs sorted before long.

Posted by drstephenmorris 19/5/10 at 23:55

I agree,the steele report was instigated to try and correct a fundamentally flawed contract,a kin to re-arranging deckchairs on theTitanic.We need to have a completely new start,approaching issues from a different angle,which may need time.If the government wish to save money in the interim period they should change to a registration system or dare i say it fee per item.At least dental work would be done!

Posted by bonobo5 20/5/10 at 14:30

Why the NHS never dares to hire someone with actual experience in running an NHS practice or even practices?

The current system corners patients and dentists and we don't need Mr. Steel to tell us to focus on prevention. The NHS should admit it does not have the finances to cover what it claims it can and should allow dentists decide what they can and cannot do under the nhs. Hand instrumentation of a molar tooth is ridiculous, and when the rotary instruments cost more than what the patient pays for it, something is wrong with the system.

And when patients believe dentists should not be paid for each treatment then all the government has achieved is lack of trust in the profession by the general public. Can I go into a store as an nhs dentist and buy 3 for the price of one? No, and anyway why make patients think they are getting a "deal". The more teeth they need fixing, the more they loose - they should not feel happy at all - there should not be financial gain in that - sends out the wrong message. People should be encouraged to brush and prevent problems.

Posted by dentistuk12 31/7/10 at 10:07

Dentistuk12 Agree with you completely. This contract is a shamble. There is no such thing as high quality Dentistry under NHS. This contract is about trying to do your best for the patients as much as you can without burning out yourself and it is about being smart enough to play the DOH game.

Posted by Frasse 31/7/10 at 14:03

I forgot to mention that my previous comment can be considered morally wrong but as long as the politicians and the government do not correct a completely flawed contract there are only 2 ways to go: 1- Leave the NHS system and go private or if you stay 2- Try to do your best within the system (Try to educate your NHS patients by explaining to them what this contract is really about= Saving money and not quality) Try to make your voice heard if possible and lobby against this contract, but don't feel ashamed for a second if you are manipulating the contract (without harming the patients obviously) This is what the DOH has forced the Dentists to do.

Posted by Frasse 31/7/10 at 21:17

The problem is the challenges we face is taboo.

I feel the only right we have is to shut up.

So I sit do my work and hope I will have some patients who are not driven by the "10 for 1 deal" in the NHS but rather using the right end of their toothbrush. I had a patient who constantly had problems so his tx plan was open already for 5 months, with 3 rcts etc...I cannot believe what the NHS is expecting of us. And it is not fair to say it is only one patient. It isn't. You have to calculate in all the ones I did not get to see while providing lengthy treatments for this one patient. Does this lower my UDA production, of course. And who will make me pay for it? The PCT. Slap me twice, why don't you. First give me 3 UDAs for it and then claw back some money. Nice.

It is ridiculous. And you know what! The dentist who abused the previous system still abuse the system and still don't look out for their patients' interest. Did the NHS really think they tricked the corrupt dentists? Dentists who did not care about their patients then, still won't.

And when the NHS decided on this system, they basically said - "we know the rest of the world allows dentists get paid for each work they do, but our dentists are worse than the rest of the world's".

What message is that to the public, or to the rest of the world? It is embarrassing. They are punishing us for a few corrupt dentists' acts and are humiliating us, nationally and internationally. There are corrupt dentists everywhere, even in Canada or the States, but there, people respect dentists and are not shy to ask for a pleasant aesthetic smile.

Here people don't. The NHS cannot fund it for sure, cannot even pretend to, so it just underplays the importance of a healthy aesthetic smile. There is a direct connection between how much a person smiles based on how confident they feel about their teeth. Just watch our current athletes and the way they give their interviews (except for Ennis), you can tell they are conscious about their teeth. But have you ever heard the government tell people, if you have an aesthetic smile, you will smile more? No! Private dentists do.

While in America/Canada good teeth are part of being successful in your life, here white straight teeth are laughed at. People are brain washed.

Dentists need to get back into power to really help the public.

Posted by dentistuk12 1/08/10 at 09:27

And in response to Frasse, of course all dentists have to play the game and yes to some extent because as he said the patient comes first. But since the patient comes first we still end up in situations like the one I mentioned. I am sure if dentistry went private (except emergency services so that nobody has to pull out a tooth for themselves) - people would start practicing better oh.

Posted by dentistuk12 1/08/10 at 12:22

Dentsituk12 Agree with what you say. I feel that the money already spent on the NHS dentistry can be used much more efficiently. Make it a good core Service and monitor it in a good way. Go after the Dentists who abuse the system and get rid of them. I have always felt that the GDC can go and punish the bad apples amongst us really harsh. (Erase them for life with no possibility of reinstatement but stop investigating silly cases. Get rid of NO WIN, NO FEE lawyers who are encouraging everyone to Sues their health care professionals ) and encourage honesty and evidence based treatments + prevention. But that requires honest politicians who are not just after the electorates votes and a strong BDA who can represent us in an efficient way. A campaign to inform and educate the public, that is honest in conveying our msg about prevention and quality. I doubt it will ever happen.

Posted by Frasse 1/08/10 at 16:29