GDPC, under the Chairmanship of John Milne had agreed engagement with extreme vigilance, and I am sure that is what all GDPC representatives on the working groups have tried to bring to this project, but that vigilance must continue. Selection of the pilot practices must not be restricted to the PCT “favourites”, this contract must work for all contractors and patient types if it is to be successful. Evaluation of the pilots must be honest and have the confidence of all that are affected and not based on what the DoH perceives a success.
The work during the contracts group has been influenced by the Oral Health Assessment (Red, Amber, Green traffic lights) developed in Salford. It’s advocates proclaim the potential benefits and clearly in the hands of the committed it has some interesting features, but will it work when spread more widely. Well the positive thinkers will say “that’s what the pilots will test” and we shall see.
Clearly it might work well with the correct funding, but I understand some practices in Salford have not been so successful with similar schemes where funding has clearly proved inadequate in a high needs area and the UDA values and other payments clearly affect success and failure.
But that’s where the money men come into play and as we all know protected NHS funding is proving hard for the coalition to protect. They have discovered holes all over the place in budgets and as I said in last month’s article, if you were planning pilots now is not the best time to do it. 4% effeciency savings in primary care demanded, wage freezes in secondary care and PCTs struggling to save 40-45% of budgets, austere times indeed.

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