One Working Days’ Notice - NHS Dentists Need To Implement Big Change
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- Published: Monday, 23 August 2021 07:16
- Written by Chris Tapper
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Dentists in Scotland have been given just one working day to implement the delivery of free NHS dental care to 18-25 year-olds.
A letter from the Scottish Government Primary Care Directorate dated Friday 20th August said “As part of the First Mnister’s 100 Days Commitment, the Scottish Government made a commitment for young people with care experience to be exempted from NHS dental charges.”
“This commitment has now been widened to include all young people between 18 and 25 years of age (inclusive). The intention is for these arrangements to be in place from 24 Auqust 2021.”
The short notice the Scottish Government gave dental practices prompted a warning from the British Dental Association Scotland. BDA News said the SNP-led Government “Must improve communication, and carefully manage patient expectations.”
In June 2020, General Dental Service dentists in England received short notice of the reopening of dental practices to ‘routine’ care, following the shutdown of dental services.
That move prompted widespread criticism of NHS England and the Office of the Chief Dental Officer, for not giving practices more time to prepare for reopening and not enough timely, clear guidance on operating procedures.
On Friday, BDA News said the ‘free treatment’ policy was “A centrepiece of the SNP’s May election bid, and plans to abolish dental charges for this age group were introduced over two months ago.”
“Today’s communication is the first formal instruction on how practices should implement the policy.”
BDA News said that BDA Scotland has expressed ‘deep concern’ over the absence of ‘clear messaging’ in order to manage patient expectations. The BDA said that with practices still continuing to operate at low capacity, they weren’t able to cater for the anticipated spike in demand for treatment as a result of the introduction of the scrapping of charges.
Dental examinations are already free in Scotland and BDA News reported that official data from before the pandemic indicated that Scotland had 25% higher adult participation rates compared to England.
They said the statistic “Hints at the scale of demand suppression effects of charges, which the BDA believe are the wrong way to fund NHS dentistry.”
“The Business Assessment Document for the new policy states that additional costs may arise due to increased Item of Service treatments, but this is ‘not quantifiable.’”
The Scottish Government’s letter told dentists “This is a first step towards the wider commitment from Ministers to make NHS dental services free at the point of use for all patients by the end of the current parliament.”
“The transition from childhood to young adulthood is often a time when young people lose touch with their dentist, particularly as they may be leaving home for the first time and living independently.”
“The impact of moving away can have a profound effect on diet, with young people more likely to eat unhealthy foods, with a detrimental impact on oral health.”
Dr David McColl, Chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee told BDA News
"It beggars belief that practices have been given a single working day to prepare for seismic change in how dentistry is delivered in Scotland.
"The rollout of free dentistry will inevitably increase patient expectations and heap more pressure on dental teams who are already struggling to address a colossal backlog.”
"Ministers risk creating demand for care that simply cannot be met, and must communicate clearly what is and isn’t available. Failure to do so will only leave hard-pressed colleagues bearing the brunt of patients’ frustrations.”
"The Scottish Government hasn’t fully understood the operation of dental practice throughout this pandemic.”
"We need better communication, and appropriate investment. This is not the way to implement a landmark policy."
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