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Steele on track for new dental contract proposals

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Jimmy is back!

Health minister Lord Howe has agreed that Professor Jimmy Steele will assist in shaping new dental contract pilot proposals going forward.

The Government will publish proposals for piloting a new dentistry contract by December, he announced today.

Following a meeting with Professor Jimmy Steele, who led an Independent Review of NHS dentistry last year, Lord Howe agreed that Professor Steele should assist in developing the new pilot proposals going forward.

The NHS White Paper, Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, proposed the introduction of a new dentistry contract following a period of consultation and piloting.

The aim of the new contract will be to improve quality of patient care and increase access to NHS dental services, with an additional focus on improving the oral health of schoolchildren.

Lord Howe says: 'As set out in the White Paper, we intend to bring in a new dental contract based on registration, capitation and quality.

'Our aim is to improve oral health for adults and children as well as increase access to NHS dental services. I have set up a national steering group to drive this work forward, with the aim of publishing the pilot proposals by the end of this year.

'I am delighted Professor Steele has agreed to join this group and assist us in developing these proposals.  There are many aspects of Professor Steele's review that are in line with the coalition government's plans to reform the NHS dental contract.'

Professor Jimmy Steele says: 'Reform of NHS dentistry is a high priority, both for the professionals who work with the system and for the patients who use it, so I am delighted to continue to make a contribution as a member of the steering group through the process of piloting and implementation.'

The British Dental Association (BDA) is backing his involvement, stressing once again the importance of early discussions between government and the Association in developing the proposals prior to publication later this year and meaningful piloting of any proposed reforms.

John Milne, chair of the BDA's General Dental Practice Committee says: ‘The profession has offered its broad support for the proposals outlined in Professor Steele's Review since it was published in the summer of 2009. We are delighted to see that he will continue to be involved in the development of proposals for reform.

‘The profession must be fully involved in their development from an early stage. We look forward to helping to move the process of reform forward and delivering a better NHS dental system for patients and dentists across England.'

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Access, access, access, continues to squark the parrot.
Prof Steele is a very decent fellow, but with very little personal experience of running a dental practice.
If Lord Howe continues to force through the CQC registration nonsense, then any goodwill the new Coalition may have had will evaporate PDQ.

Posted by drstephenmorris 16/09/10 at 11:46

Add your comment here...

Posted by biker2260 16/09/10 at 18:34

Sorry about that! Clicked the wrong mouse button. Very good point Stephen, but many different governments have proved over the years by systematically insulting, undervaluing and generally abusing our professionalism that they do not need or even respect our goodwill. Why should this one be any different, especially when Dentists seem to be prepared to sign up to any exploitative scheme that is presented to them and then moan about how unfair it is afterwards. Nothing will change unless we all vote with our feet. If you do what you've always done you'll always get what you always got.

Posted by biker2260 16/09/10 at 18:35

As nice a person Jimmy Steele may be, he is not what NHS dentistry needs atm. His views and ideology of what NHS dentistry should be are not in line with how as Dr Morris outlined, a NHS dental practice can operate. With increased regulation and astronomical rises in costs of running a practice, Lord HOwe will have to rethink again.

Posted by steve 16/09/10 at 18:36

The only decent thing to do is to stop the lies and tell the electorate that there is not enough money for a high quality NHS dental cover! Professor Steele is a brilliant academic but he probably doesn't have a clue about the "real life" out there for the majority of hard working NHS dentists. Make it a core service or a decent system covering up to second premolars. Any treatment for molars should be covered by a private insurance scheeme or direct payment by patients. This is the reality. There is not enough money for a high quality, comprehensive dental cover.

Posted by Frasse 16/09/10 at 21:29

biker2260 - I agree. I've already voted with my feet. The headline the other day in one of the rag-mags clogging the recycle bin - 'Government to set dentists pay!' had me grinning. I thought 'not mine any more, they don't'.
Frasse - what, a politician tell the truth? Now come on, be realistic. They just say whatever their focus groups tell them the great unwashed want to hear. :-)

Posted by drstephenmorris 16/09/10 at 22:39

Has Jimmy Steele ever worked in primary care?

Posted by steve 17/09/10 at 10:24

steve - don't think so. Maybe one of us should be allowed to decide how all the Dental Schools are organised, run and funded? ;-)

Posted by drstephenmorris 17/09/10 at 10:41

I could do that! Apart from anything else I need the income! Prof Steel is a salaried academic - probably a very nice, sincere person and no doubt very accomplished in his field, but it does conjure up visions of a self appointed captain of industry preaching to the coalface workers in his little sailor suit, bless him.

Posted by biker2260 17/09/10 at 10:49

biker2260 - yes. You know, during my day in the Army it was generally considered that the most dangerous thing around was an Officer, with a map. When Prof Jimmy blows a whistle and shouts 'follow me, men!'.....I won't.

Posted by drstephenmorris 17/09/10 at 11:23

Haha Me neither! Agreed, get a GDP to write a contract for hospital based dentists and see whether they can meet targets. No more takeing 2 hours for an MOD amalgam me thinks!

Posted by steve 18/09/10 at 09:14

I've been thinking about this (careful!) and I think that biker2260 has it absolutely right. The main problem is, the politicians think GDP's are morally equivalent to snake oil salesmen, or possibly estate agents. Ergo, we are not as GDP's to be trusted at all, and so they appoint that amiable Prof to organise the system. The strange thing is, they have a purblind faith in the rectitude of our general medical practitioner colleagues, even to the extent of handing them the lions share of the NHS budget to do with what they fancy. Just occasionally, the faith is rattled a bit (Shipman), but not for long. Strangely, our actual patients on an individual basis, trust us as least as much as their GMP, who usually doesn't have to subject many of their bodily cavities to much surgery. Having reached this conclusion, I took it forward to the next stage - which is that patients definitely trust us much more than politicians, who have an image problem in Britain which makes ours as a profession seem miniscule. I never hesitate to point-out why we in our practice have very little to do with the NHS (a vestigial child-only contract, dynamises all those NHS pension contributions/added years I bought), and of course patients always have the option to try one of the Nectar Points/UDA factories nearby. They often return with appalling work done, eg the lady I saw last week who took 'advantage' of her exempt status after a baby, to have a sojourn away from our Denplan. Personally, I think extracting anteriors which could have been crowned constitutes nothing more than criminal assault - but that's just an opinion. I feel she'll probably opt to see a friend of mine for implants. I also rather hope she gets in touch with Dental Law, and I don't say that lightly.

Posted by drstephenmorris 18/09/10 at 10:34

.......so maybe the politicians are right! The point is, the lady patient 'trusted' someone to sort out her perceived problem. Misplaced trust, of course! But under what pressures was the dentist who 'treated' her working?! I cannot myself say, as I 'walked' in April 2006. Thankfully!

Posted by drstephenmorris 18/09/10 at 11:15

Professor Steele and the BDA talk about quality pathways and improving access to NHS dentistry.If there is a problem with the quality of work should this not be picked up at dental school and dealt with accordingly by Prof Steele or does the contract encourage a minoriy of dentists to follow such a path.The BDA which is supposed to represent the profession ,the majority of which,are GDP`s,should consider this- PCT`s and the contract limit access.Scrap the contract and allow the dentists who have little or no NHS contract start seeing patients again without any long winded tendering process.We are dentists not corporate lawyers.

Posted by bonobo5 28/09/10 at 19:30