The Government has today launched the NHS 10 Year Plan which commits to making the NHS dental contract more attractive, increasing access, improving children’s oral health and introducing tie-ins for those trained in the NHS.
The Plan, which was preceded by the largest public consultation on the NHS, sets out the Government’s intentions for the NHS. This follows the announced merger of NHS England with the Department of Health and Social Care, and the budget cuts to Integrated Care Boards which is leading to their restructure.
The focus of the Plan is on three “key shifts”:
- From hospital to community: the neighbourhood health service, designed around you
- From analogue to digital: power in your hands
- From sickness to prevention: power to make the healthy choice
The three “key shifts” will be delivered by Government developing:
- A devolved and diverse NHS: a new operating model
- A new transparency and quality of care
- An NHS workforce, fit for the future
- Powering transformation: innovation to drive healthcare reform
- Productivity and a new financial foundation
On dentistry the Plan states:
“By 2035, the NHS dental system will be transformed, so it provides high quality care at the right time, and nobody goes without because they cannot afford it. We will build a service which is attractive to, and values dental care professionals. With a new dental contract at its heart, NHS dentistry will be more transparent for patients. It will provide more readily accessible, good quality care – including better prevention – to those most in need.
Our first step is to stabilise NHS dentistry and make sure the budget we have is spent on those who need care most.”
On the controversial proposal for a dental graduate tie-in which was consulted on over the election period, the Plan states:
“we will now make it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period. We intend this minimum period to be at least 3 years. That will mean more NHS dentists, more NHS appointments and better oral health.”
In addition the Plan commits to working with the profession on improvements to the NHS dental contract with an expectation of reducing “low value”activity which includes check up “frequency exceeding that stipulated in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, through changes to financial incentives and improved system oversight.”
You can find the Government’s official release and full document here.
