Dentistry News | Dental Jobs | Dentist Forum | CPD Education
Dental news |
 |
RSS Feed | View by: Most Recent | Most Popular | Most Discussed |
BDA upset by Scot funding
5th May 2005
It is now Scotland’s turn to have NHS dentistry modernised services, with promised extra funding of £150 million. The BDA described the announcement as ‘a disappointment and a wasted opportunity’. The initiative promises that every child in Scotland will have access to dental care on starting nursery by March 2008, with the largest supervised toothbrushing programme in Europe. Scotland will have over 200 extra dentists by 2008 and by then an additional 400,000 people will be registered with an NHS dentist. Although there are some similarities with the approach in England and Wales, with responsibility for services being devolved locally, the proposed system of remuneration is very different. The key characteristics are: • A capitation system reflected by changes to registration arrangements • Allowances building on the existing general dental practice allowance • Item of service fees but reducing the number of items from 400+ to around 50 • Direct reimbursement of some costs, such as premises, IT, staff and services, such as clinical waste disposal • Ongoing development of the career structure for salaried staff. Allowances and reimbursements would be dependent on continued NHS commitment and there is the possibility of clawback if the practice increases its private practice. NHS Boards will be given a clear responsibility for planning and securing NHS dentistry in their areas. Free oral health assessments will be introduced. This would be done when a patient joins a dentist's list, and be followed by routine free examinations and updating. These oral health assessments will indicate care pathways to determine subsequent treatment needed and access to advanced care. What is or is not available under the NHS will be kept under review and both profession and patients will be involved. The BDA welcomed moves to improve the dental health of children from birth with a programme aimed at ensuring 60% of newborns will have no dental decay by age five. But its Scottish Secretary, Andrew Lamb said that unless the Scottish Executive took action to resolve funding and workforce shortfalls, their aspirations would be impossible to fulfil. The BDA had called for funding to be tripled.
Rate this story
Comments
