A bunch of frogs in a pot of boiling water trying to negotiate how fast the temperature is being turned up.
That’s the analogy Simon Thackeray, a dental practice owner, used to describe dentists working in the NHS.
It came up during a discussion with a panel of peers, including Eddie Crouch, Joe Hendron, David Houston, Paul Worskett, and Ros Keeton, held by Practice Plan to debate the state of NHS dentistry and the potential for future change.
Much has been said about who are, or should be, the drivers of change within dentistry – the government or the profession themselves.
There is also constant doubt around whether, with the issues across the wider NHS, it is realistically possible to implement positive change that would benefit dentists, patients and the government.
One thing that is known is that in April 2020, change will come in the form of the reformed contract, which will begin being rolled out to practices across England.
However, there still remains a lot of uncertainty around what exactly that will look like, how it will be done and the way it will impact different types of practices.
To try to answer some of those questions and help dentists prepare for the best way forward for them/their practice, Practice Plan is inviting them to attend a free event, ‘What Next for NHS Dentistry?’ where a panel of their peers will discuss the implications of the new dental contract.
The panel includes principal dentist Onkar Dhanoya, who is also chair of North Tyne Local Dental Committee, president of the BDA’s northern counties branch and senior vice-dean of the FGDP(UK), and Shiv Pabary MBE, a member of the GDPC Executive, Education Associate for the GDC, and local dental adviser to NHS England.
They will be joined by Louise Hunter, principal dentist and owner of a mixed practice, and Joe Hendron, the 2018 LDC Conference chairman and a practice owner who withdrew his practice from the prototype programme in an open letter to the then Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
It will take place from 6:15 pm – 8:30 pm on Wednesday 27 March at Durham County Cricket Club.
A similar event was held in Solihull in January and attended by around 100 dentists, many of whom were able to ask questions directly to the panel.
To book your free place at the ‘What Next for NHS Dentistry?’ event, click here.
For more information, contact: [email protected] or call 01691 684163.
