Speaking at a meeting of MPs at Westminster (All Party Parliamentary Group for Dentistry), Health Minister Earl Howe stressed that it was important that any new dental contract in England must work for dental practices and support their functioning as businesses. It must also support better access and health outcomes for patients and be cost effective, he said.
A recent report shows that there are worrying levels of perceived bullying at all levels in the culture of the CQC. Over 90% of the 236 people who contributed to the report felt that they had been subjected to bullying or harassment in the workplace. It was clear to the report’s authors that the problem exists across the whole organisation.
Work will start next month on the first integrated, stand-alone dental hospital and dental school to be built in the UK for almost 40 years. The development, in the new Edgbaston Medical Quarter, on the site of the former BBC Pebble Mill Studios, will see a new four-storey dental hospital and school of dentistry constructed, with a build cost of £34m. Totalling 15,465 sqm, it will house a range of services for the public including walk-in emergency dental care, Restorative, Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Orthodontics and Paediatric Dentistry.
The Department of Health has issued an online publication which aims to update readers on the progress in developing a new NHS dental contract. On each page there is an opportunity to give feedback. Use this link to access it: http://tinyurl.com/ms6tkeh
The study shows that for single-tooth replacement, dental implants were generally either cost saving or cost-effective in comparison with traditional fixed dental prostheses. For patients with mandibular edentulism, dental implants were associated with higher initial costs. However, the consensus among most studies was that, over the long term, dental implants represent a cost-effective treatment option.
Wesleyan Assurance Society has announced the acquisition of the Practice Plan Group, comprising Practice Plan, provider of practice-branded dental membership plans, and Medenta, provider of patient finance to UK dental practices. Nick Dilworth, MD of Practice Plan, said: “Practice Plan is pleased to become part of one of the UK’s financially strongest mutuals with a great heritage and a reputation for customer service and product performance.”
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