Head of sales, Zoe Close asks the British Dental Association’s Shawn Charlwood for an update on what developments the profession can expect regarding a new contract.
‘There’s no detail in that plan. It’s essentially a blank piece of paper. It’s a plan about a plan.’ That was BDA General Dental Practice Committee chair, Shawn Charlwood’s verdict on the government’s recently announced pledge to develop a dental recovery plan.
He expressed this view as a panellist during Practice Plan’s Dental Business Theatre session ‘Is there a future for NHS dentistry?’ at the British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show last month.
In this extract from the discussion, head of sales, Zoe Close asks Shawn for an update on what developments the profession can expect regarding a new contract.
Ruefully, he outlines the steps already taken by the government to date: the so-called ‘quick wins’ which had to be re-named ‘marginal changes’ due to the length of time they took to be introduced.
Sufficient plan?
He goes on to recount that, despite providing a paper to the government outlining details of a capitation scheme which would allow dentists to be remunerated for preventative as well as restorative work, current contract change discussions still revolve around the UDA system. Pleas to move away from that way of working remain seemingly ignored.
He sees the plan-about-a-plan as another example of the Department for Health and Social Care trying to buy time. Yet another can kicked down the same road.
However, pressure from the media, the public and MPs may result in the blank piece of paper being populated with at least some detail in the very near future.
But with a Prime Minister who continues to parrot the same inaccurate information about investment in the service and the numbers of dentists still providing it, will it be a plan sufficiently attractive to entice existing dentists to ensure the future of NHS dentistry?
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