A can or worms or a damp squib?

What?

Happy New Year y’awl. For those long-breakers among you, welcome back to the coal face, and the dark days of gyms, diets and abstinence.  Not long now and it’ll all be chocolate!

And boy,  has the dust been a’disturbed in  your absence.

You see... "the letter" is out.  See the link below if you wish to read it, and read it you should.  The cat is out of the bag but is there a mouse to be caught? The gauntlet has been thrown down, but will the DH accept the challenge or merely hide under the armour of political expediency? You decide - and if you choose to act, just maybe you will.

So what?

Will anything change? Only if you truly believe with a passion in your profession. Only if that passion is strong enough to make you feel you want to change something.  Only if you can be bothered to make your voice heard at the GDPC.  Only if you call your MP to account. But please do NOT do nothing.

Dr Alun Rees has blogged powerfully on the subject at http://theincisaledge.co.uk/2014/01/02/basic-british-nhs-dentistry/

Elephant and Whatsit ?

The DH have replied and it has duly been published by the Dentistry web portal at http://www.dentistry.co.uk/news/open-letter-slams-nhs-dentistry 

If it was a table tennis ball, it would be an unplayable serve with all the controlled spin! Although, to give the DH credit they “try” to collect “factual data” and are referring to the said data in what might be described as a strangely neutral way.

As denials go, a wet kipper thrown from 20 yards would have been more effective.  Perversely encouraging I think.  Anyone might think the CDO has been awaiting this challenge for a long time.

What now?

Dr Tony Kilcoyne , with his boundless energy and commitment, has highlighted two major issues which the DH and inter alia the CDO England refuse to address:

Ask yourself: what can you do to move the DH start their road to better ways in 2014, by admitting these two truths publicly:

1. The NHS Dentistry System in England cannot possibly provide for ALL the clinical needs of ALL their population fully.

2. The NHS Dentistry System in England cannot possibly provide ALL clinical care & treatments to the highest standards available, for all their population too.

I say again - what now?

As the quiet lurking kinda readers who are happy being below the parapet,  I think there is a job for you here.

If you agree with the essence of the argument here, tell your patients. Let them know YOU care about them and what the Government system does to your practice.

If you agree that we need a proper definition of what IS available under the NHS and what is NOT, call your LDC rep.  Unless of course you remain content to see your mixed practice options shrink back again ...

E-mail John Milne at the BDA GDPC

and copy all correspondence to Dr Barry Cockcroft, CDO England.

Having opened the can of worms, we do now have to stick our hand in and clean the can out.  In my opinion, we have until the end of March to achieve the changes needed for the 2015 Contract Reform.

Tin hats everyone.. Tally ho, we're going in.

Letter at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/10546044/The-public-should-know-of-the-dangerous-decay-of-NHS-dentistry-in-England.html

Article at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10545878/NHS-dentistry-is-unfit-for-purpose-professionals-warn.html

Other references:

1. The Francis Report – Chairman states:
"They (patients) were failed by a system which ignored the warning signs and put corporate self interest and cost control ahead of patients and their safety.”
http://www.midstaffspublicinquiry.com/report

2. The third most common medical reason for any child occupying a Hospital Bed in England, is still rotten teeth!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4699838/Tooth-decay-third-most-common-reason-for-children-to-be-admitted-to-hospital.html

3. Dental Adult Health Survey shows 45% of Adults have at least one 4mm deep gum pocket that’s associated with deeper gum disease (BPE level 3 where worst possible BPE level is a 4 score!)
http://www.esds.ac.uk/doc/6884/mrdoc/pdf/6884theme2_disease_and_related_disorders.pdf

4. Dentistry planning is only based on ‘visible’ obvious decay holes in major surveys. This is totally inadequate by NOT using modern techniques for hidden decay detection between teeth like X-rays or other detection methods. Such survey results or conclusions are thus unreliable and invalid for planning.
http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/adhtechnical_information.pdf

5. NHS was too powerful to criticise, says Chairman of the CQC Regulator.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/laura-donnelly/