Friday 12 March 2021
15:43
Dentist can help to tackle vaccine misinformation
How can dentists help tackle vaccine misinformation and better engage the BAME community in this great national effort? A fifth-year dental student, Mustafa Nawaz Khan, tackles this question in his recent blog:
"So far, my team and I have given over 20,000 vaccinations at my local practice in the multi-cultural borough of Haringey, North London, but I’m very concerned that the vast majority of those coming in to be vaccinated are white. This is not representative of the demographic of the area and it’s becoming clear that meeting BAME vaccination targets is one of the major challenges facing the vaccination programme nationally. However, I believe dentists can help."
15:33
Discussing vaccination with your team
We suggest that practices discuss the vaccination with all members of the dental team. The University of Bristol has produced a helpful
Communications Handbook on this. It's important that concerns about the vaccine are discussed in good time and sensitively.
The vaccine is important in our fight against coronavirus, but practices should be aware that they cannot insist that staff have the vaccine when it is offered. If, after a discussion, a member of the dental team refuses to have the vaccine, the practice must accept that decision.
In any event, practices should ensure that all members of the dental team continue to adhere to the standard operating procedures and to practice policies and procedures. The situation is no different for associates. For more information on vaccination, pregnancy and the dental team see
our FAQs.
12:40
FAST campaign relaunched - do you know the signs of stroke?
Data suggests that some people put off seeking help for stroke during the first months of the pandemic. That's why, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England and NHS Improvement, supported by the Stroke Association, have this week relaunched the
Act FAST campaign.
Stroke is a time-sensitive condition – any delay in getting treatment impacts a patient’s health outcomes. The campaign reminds people of the symptoms of stroke and why urgently calling 999 is vital for saving lives. You're and your team are urged to act FAST - the signs of stroke are:
- Face – has their face fallen on one side? Can they smile?
- Arms – can they raise both their arms and keep them there?
- Speech – is their speech slurred?
- Time – it’s time to call 999 if you see any of these signs or symptoms.
10:04
Scotland: Update on PPE
NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) have confirmed that the validation of 3M 1863 FFP3 masks will expire on the 31 March 2021. They have asked all NHS boards to ensure that any unused stock is disposed of safely via domestic waste prior to the deadline.
NSS have also confirmed that the PPE allocation for Vocational Dental Practitioners undertaking non-aerosol generating procedures will increase from five to eight patients per day from 1 April 2021. This increase was decided on by NSS following conversations with training practices who have more than one VDP working within the practice, this will allow these VDPs gain more clinical experience. We understand that all Scottish training practices have been notified of this change.
09:20
England and Wales census
Dentists seeing patients before 21 March could encourage their patients to complete the 2021 census. The census team is asking professionals who are in touch with hard-to-reach communities to offer a reminder. It could be either by making
assets available in your practices, or a very brief chat as you welcome the patient.
Thursday 11 March 2021
16:08
Webinar: Buying and selling dental practices after COVID-19
Are you planning to buy or sell a dental practice? If so,
register to attend our upcoming webinar which tells you everything you need to know about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the process. Taking place on Thursday 25 March 2021 at 19:30 - 20:30, the webinar is designed to help you:
- Understand how COVID-19 has impacted the buying and selling market
- Explore current diligence requirements for dental practice sales
- Review the typical deal structures for dental practice acquisitions
- Analyse current practice valuation trends.
13:52
England: Clinical leaders support call for NHS staff to be vaccinated
Clinical leaders in England have reiterated the Chief Medical Officer's message that NHS staff have a professional responsibility to get vaccinated.
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and its Royal College member organisations have now published a statement on their strong support for the UK vaccination programme, and the importance of health and care staff getting vaccinated.
The statement is as follows:
"The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and its member organisations strongly support the UK vaccination programme. The evidence for both the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines is strong and clear cut.
"We believe it is particularly important for health and care staff to be vaccinated if at all possible because of the responsibility we all have in our various interactions with patients.
"For all doctors there is a duty from our regulator, the GMC, to be immunised against common serious communicable diseases (unless otherwise contraindicated). Beyond that we believe that it is just common sense that all health and care workers should do all that they can to protect patients, themselves and their colleagues. This includes ensuring they take the opportunity to have a full course of COVID-19 vaccination."
We have more information on the COVID-19 vaccination in our
FAQs: Coronavirus and the dental team.
13:22
England: Data Security and Protection Toolkit deadline extended
Practices with an NHS contract are reminded that the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) should be completed every year. The date for completion is usually the end of March, however, this year the deadline has been extended to 30 June 2021.
For advice on completing the toolkit, members can login to access our updated step-by-step guide to completing the DSPT
or get in touch with our advice team:
advice.enquiries@bda.org.
12:09
Wales: Mental health survey update
We are grateful for all the dentists in Wales who took the time to complete our recent survey on mental health and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Respondents from all aspects of dentistry took part, and the results do conclusively show that the pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the mental wellbeing of most dentists and their teams.
We will circulate a summary of the report as soon as possible.
09:58
England: Booking your COVID-19 vaccine online
Dentists and locums in England can still book to receive their COVID-19 vaccination in a vaccination centre or community pharmacy through the NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Booking Service.
As part of the booking process, you will need to self-declare that you are a healthcare worker, the type of role/work you do and the name of your employer. You should also bring ID/proof of employment such as a staff ID badge, a recent payslip or recent letter/email from your employer (dated within the last three months).
Locum staff are also eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination. Locums should follow the above process, but verbally declare they are a locum healthcare worker. They should provide details of their locum agency, proof of General Dental Council registration and a letter of confirmation of locum status from their locum agency (dated within the last three months).
Wednesday 10 March 2021
13:25
Unconscious bias and dentistry
BDA board member and chair of our equality, diversity and inclusion work, Laura Cross, reflects on the issue of unconscious bias and gender discrimination in dentistry.
"Gender discrimination was a problem long before I became a dentist in 1990, and it continues to be a problem today. These days however it is more likely to be unspoken and unconscious."
"Outlawing discrimination hasn’t made it magically disappear. Unspoken and unconscious biases continue to affect dentists’ lives and hold back careers. We know from the powerful examples of sexism and bias shared during a recent FGDP webinar, for example, that women still face hurdles which their male colleagues do not."
13:00
Dentist can help to tackle vaccine misinformation
How can dentists help tackle vaccine misinformation and better engage the BAME community in this great national effort? A fifth-year dental student, Mustafa Nawaz Khan, tackles this question in his recent blog:
"So far, my team and I have given over 20,000 vaccinations at my local practice in the multi-cultural borough of Haringey, North London, but I’m very concerned that the vast majority of those coming in to be vaccinated are white. This is not representative of the demographic of the area and it’s becoming clear that meeting BAME vaccination targets is one of the major challenges facing the vaccination programme nationally. However, I believe dentists can help."
11:43
Have you ever worked as a prison dentist?
After five years of campaigning on behalf of prison dentists, we are now happy to confirm that
prison dentists are no longer excluded from the NHS pensions scheme. If you have ever worked as a prison dentist, you may have been incorrectly excluded from the NHS pensions scheme. Your contributions can now be included retrospectively.
For advice on what this change might mean for you, members can login to access our
prison pensions FAQs
or get in touch with our team on
prisonpensions@bda.org. Non-members can
join today to access our FAQs or reach out to the NHS BSA for more information.
09:59
Scotland: Raising concerns with the new Minister for Public Health and Sport
We have
written to the new Minister for Public Health and Sport to highlight our concerns about a range of issues, many of which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
These include ensuring sufficient capacity to address the backlog of unmet dental care need; increasing the focus on prevention to help tackle oral health inequalities; ensuring NHS dentistry remains sustainable; and improving access for vulnerable groups. We are currently developing a BDA Scotland election manifesto which will be along similar lines, and will keep you updated.
09:22
Trade deals may undermine oral health
To highlight the impact future trade deals may have on the government’s plans to tackle obesity in England, and how oral health is set to lose out, we added our support to
Sustain’s Trick or Trade campaign last week.
New research by the London School of Economics, found evidence that demands from future trade partners could lead to a flood of cheap, unhealthy foods into the UK, and that some standard trade deal clauses could threaten plans to halve childhood obesity by 2030.
BDA Chair Eddie Crouch has said: “Tooth decay is already the number one reason for child hospital admissions. With COVID set to send health inequalities into overdrive, Ministers must not open the floodgates to products that will further undermine the nation's health.”
Tuesday 9 March 2021
17:33
Scotland: New mental health resources for dentists and their teams
We are acutely aware of the growing impact the Coronavirus pandemic is having on our professional and personal lives. In light of this, we have been working with the Scottish Government to produce a mental health and wellbeing resource
for dentists and their teams across Scotland.
This compilation highlights guidance and wide support resources available for you as and when you may need it. It includes a range of UK-wide resources including the NHS Occupational Health Advice and Guidance Services which we secured, alongside the Scottish Dental Practice Committee, in 2018 to support dentists and their teams. The service is delivered through the NHS Boards.
The new resource has also been published on the
Scottish Dental website
13:06
Lunchtime webinar on Practitioner Health support services
Register today for our lunchtime webinar on Friday 26 March at 12:30 - 13:30 to
improve your awareness of mental health and bereavement support available to dentists and trainees
This will be a live interview-style webinar session with Professor Dame Clare Gerada, Medical Director of Practitioner Health, and Roz McMullan, Past BDA President and advocate for wellbeing in dentistry.
It will cover what you need to know about:
- Practitioner Health's self-referral support service for mental health issues
- How to support your team to know that it's okay to not be okay, and to seek professional help
- The other wellbeing and prevention resources available to you.
11:47
NHS prototypes in England: quarter four targets
Prototype practices have understandably been asking what contractual provisions apply for them in quarter four given that they are not subject to the 45% threshold being used for other practices. We have been raising this issue on a regular basis with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
NHS England's letter of 13 July said that, unless any new conditions are applied, the provisions set out in that letter persist. As a reminder, in order to receive full contract value, prototype practices therefore need to continue to:
- Give assurance that they are open for face-to-face interventions, are adhering to contractual hours with reasonable staffing levels for NHS services in place and are performing the highest possible levels of activity, with no undue priority being given to private activity
- Deliver the equivalent of at least 20% of usual volumes of patient care activity. Whilst NHS England hasn't specified how activity is measures, we suggest practices take a common sense approach to finding a way to measure patient care activity. For example, keeping track of the number of patient appointments each week
- Not significantly increasing private practice provision at a rate that exceeds that for NHS provision
- Maintain the eTriage system for recording of telephone/remote consultations
- Transmit FP17 data for evaluation of treatment interventions and patient outcomes
- Submit declarations around equivalence of NHS service offer and private service offer
- Submit a declaration over continued staff engagement.
Given that we are now coming towards the end of the financial year, we do not expect this position to change. We are pursuing with the DHSC as to what arrangements will apply from April and will update you when we have more to share.
10:36
England: NHS contracts for quarter four
As we come towards the end of quarter four, many practices in England will be anxiously calculating where they stand in relation to their NHS target.
As a reminder, practices will need to deliver 45% of pro-rata UDAs for the quarter to achieve 100% of contract value, minus an abatement to account for variable costs not incurred. If practices deliver between 36% and 45% of pro-rata UDAs, a proportionate enhanced rate of payment is made.
Dropping below 36% of delivery means UDAs paid on a one-to-one basis, representing a significant cliff edge, unless exceptional circumstances can be argued. Some practices will also need to be conscious of what happens if they are able to deliver more than 45% of UDAs.
For contractors reaching 45% of activity in the quarter, over-performance of up to 2% can as usual be recognised. The commissioner may pay for the additional activity or it can be credited to the following contract year. If carried forward, it reduces the contractual requirement in 2021/22. A carry over of 4% of activity may also be allowed in specific circumstances agreed with the commissioner.
Once the 45% target has been reached, UDAs will once again be counted at standard rates. So, the enhanced allocation allowed between 36% and 45% of delivery no longer applies. Effectively, 2% over-performance on the annual contract represents 8% of UDAs for the quarter. A practice will breach the 102% threshold once it reaches 53% of UDAs for the quarter, assuming it has fulfilled all relevant requirements in the first three quarters of the year. To reach the 104% annual threshold, a practice needs to deliver 61% of UDAs in the final quarter (45% plus the 16% which is 4% of the annual contract delivered pro-rata). As usual, any UDAs in addition to agreed over-performance will not be paid.
Practices should also be conscious that
NHS England's letter of 22 December set out a number of other expectations for practices to receive their full contract value. These apply even if the practice has reached the 45% mark. Practices are expected to remain open and providing care in line with the standard operating procedure.
The letter also drew attention to clause 59 of the contract which says that practices will not advise that NHS services are unavailable with a view to gaining patient agreement to undergoing private treatment. We know that some local NHS teams have already signalled their intention to enforce these provisions.
09:35
England: 1% pay recommendation to NHS dentistry
The
Government's recommendation of a 1% pay rise for NHS dentists for 2021/22 is a body blow for NHS dentistry.
The recommendation was made to the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB). Our Deputy Chair, Peter Crooks has responded to the 1% figure with the following statement:
"Ministers seem to have forgotten that NHS dentistry can only survive if it is capable of attracting and retaining talent.
"After a decade of real terms pay cuts we need all hands to the pumps to address unprecedented access problems and widening inequality.
"A return to austerity pay will come as a body blow to a service facing a deeply uncertain future. If the DDRB is truly independent it will offer a fair deal that ensures NHS dentistry can remain sustainable."
Monday 8 March 2021
17:29
Wales: Delivery of the NHS GDS Contract in 2021
The revised GDS targets in Wales have raised many concerns among dental professionals worried about the delivery practicalities and implications. Several issues were flagged this week when the Wales General Dental Practice Committee and the committee chairs met to discuss them. The concerns include:
Discrepancies in data
There are discrepancies between data provided by practices and how these show on the new
eDEN system. Furthermore, the way the data is being handled within the system may be questionable.
This means that the data seen by your Local Health Board (LHB) may not be the same as the data you have entered. Moreover, the calculations of percentages may not be clear.
We are already hearing of practices being contacted by their LHB contract managers challenging them that they are under-performing.
We advise all practices to log onto their
eDEN account to check that the data matches those inputted and also the percentage calculations. We understand NHSBSA contacts are looking into this but LHB contract managers may not to be aware.
Fluoride varnish
The targets around application of fluoride varnish are of particular concern to members who have said these targets are excessive. Some members have contacted their indemnity provider to understand the implications.
One issue with any hard target is that it can cause unintended outcomes. In this case fluoride varnish becomes a more valuable target than stabilizing the dentition of patients with uncontrolled caries which is costly and time-consuming.
We are currently relaying these concerns to the CDO for Wales, Dr Colette Bridgman and asking for greater clarity on the guidance and its application in practice in the new financial year.
17:07
BDJ launches diversity and inclusion collection
All of the BDJ's recent content on diversity and inclusion in dentistry is now available in the one place. Take a look at their new collection for interesting articles on a range of topics, including these recent pieces from BDJ In Practice:
13:50
BDJ In Practice: Women in speciality training
Roughly the same number of male and female dentists are registered with the GDC, but on the specialty register there are 25% fewer women than men. In BDJ In Practice's diversity issue, David Westgarth, looks at why this might be and asks what is it about specialty training that dissuades women from taking it up and what hurdles are there to overcome?
The piece shines a light on
the experiences of women in speciality training, through interesting interviews with Kanwalraj Moar, Cleft Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon and Divisional Director for Women's and Children's Services at Addenbrookes Hospital, Emma Woolley, Director of Medical & Dental Education, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, and Radhika Dua, OMFS Fellow in training representative to Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT).
13:20
International Women's Day: Three BDA Presidents in the spotlight
As we mark International Women's Day, it's encouraging to note that this year the third female President in four terms will be installed at the BDA.
David Westgarth of
BDJ In Practice has spoken to all three, past President and Dental Protection Dentolegal Consultant, Susie Sanderson, immediate past President and mental health campaigner, Roz McMullan, and President Elect and editor of Evidence Based Dentistry, Elizabeth Kay to discuss what the honour means to them.
"I would like to think that it means that we have reached the stage where the BDA members do not consider gender when they have before them a good pool of candidates, all of whom have a proven track record of successfully holding significant leadership positions. But I don't think everyone is there yet. It would be good that presidential nominations are viewed and recommendations made to the membership based on what the individual will bring to the role and responsibility of president. It's a job that needs energy, professionalism, wisdom, experience, insight and humility. Those traits aren't gender specific." - Susie Sanderson, Former BDA President.
12:25
Unconscious bias and dentistry
On this International Women's Day BDA board member, Laura Cross, reflects on the issue of unconscious bias and gender discrimination in dentistry.
"Gender discrimination was a problem long before I became a dentist in 1990, and it continues to be a problem today. These days however it is more likely to be unspoken and unconscious."
"Outlawing discrimination hasn’t made it magically disappear. Unspoken and unconscious biases continue to affect dentists’ lives and hold back careers. We know from the powerful examples of sexism and bias shared during a recent FGDP webinar, for example, that women still face hurdles which their male colleagues do not."
