British Dental Association Calls For Constructive Solutions To Problems With NHS Dental Contract, UK

Main Category: Dentistry
Article Date: 22 Feb 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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The British Dental Association (BDA) has called for a more flexible way of monitoring NHS dentistry that emphasises factors such as preventive care, improved oral health, access, quality and patient experience. Giving oral evidence to the Health Select Committee's inquiry into NHS Dental and Orthodontic services, BDA Executive Board Chair Susie Sanderson warned that it would be difficult to improve access to NHS care unless units of dental activity (UDAs) were scrapped as the sole measure of dentists' work.

Dr Sanderson said:

"The unit of dental activity is a crazy unit of measurement. If we continue to use UDAs as the sole measure of activity, then we have no chance whatsoever of making sure dental provision is improved, particularly for the disadvantaged cohorts of the population."

She also explained the many problems created by the new contract, including the reduced number of patients able to access NHS dentistry since the introduction of the new contract and problems with both the threat and reality of clawback against dentists who do not achieve their UDA targets.

The BDA has said it wants to work with the Department of Health and primary care trusts to find constructive solutions to the many problems facing NHS dentistry.

The full session of the Health Select Committee can be viewed here.

Notes

1. The BDA's submission of written evidence to the inquiry can be accessed here.

2. Further details of the inquiry into NHS Dental and Orthodontic Services are available here.

3. The British Dental Association (BDA) is the professional association for dentists in the UK. It represents over 20,000 dentists working in general practice, in community and hospital settings, in academia and research, and in the armed forces.

British Dental Association

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