On 10 March the LDC Confederation hosted a lively event on the upcoming changes to the dental contract.
This event, held at 30 Euston Square, home of the Royal College of General Practitioners, hosted almost 200 dentists from around London.
The LDC Confederation was delighted to host:
Ali Sparke, Director of Community Pharmacy, Dentistry and Optometry, NHS England, who provided an overview of the policy intentions behind the reforms.
Jason Wong, Chief Dental Officer for England, who provided an explanation of the clinical changes.
Jeremy Wallman, Head of Primary Care Commissioning; Dentistry, Optometry and Pharmacy for London, Kelly Nizzer, Regional Lead Primary Care Commissioning; Dentistry & Optometry Services, and Andrew Biggadike, Regional Lead; Secondary, Community & Specialist Dentistry, who provided an update on implementation and how the changes would be managed in London. The team also provided some modelling on the potential impact on patient access of the changes and how contract attainment is managed in London.
After their talks the panel took questions from the audience. Many questions and issues remained unresolved until further guidance for commissioners will be published. The London Dental Commissioning Hub, however, reiterated their commitment to working pragmatically and in support of dentistry with the collaboration of the Local Dental Committees.
Many questions focused on the forthcoming clinical pathways, which are not coming in to force in April, but are expected to come into force in June. Specific clinical guidance for the three new complex care pathways is expected before implementation.
There were also many questions about associate payments. The panel was clear that internal practice payment issues are a matter for the practice, and not for the NHS. All payments are, however, converted into UDAs so it was expected that whatever existing arrangement existed would continue.
Ahead of the meeting the London Dental Commissioning Hub had sent round the latest updates on the contract, including a guide to how to view the Unscheduled/Urgent Care on Compass and a calculator to help practices calculate the value attached to Unscheduled/Urgent Care activity from April. This update is available on the LDC Confederation Website.
The LDC Confederation is expecting to host an online event on the complex care pathways in the coming months.
