Bradford Dental Practice Starts New NHS Contract Trial
A Bradford dental practice will be part of a pilot scheme to trial a new NHS dental contract.
Rayner and Rayner Dental Practice in Wibsey is one of five dental practices in Yorkshire and the Humber to be selected for the pilot programme, beating off competition from more than 500 other practices to land the trial.
The pilot scheme will pay dentists according to the number of patients they treat, rather than the amount of courses of treatment they provide and ministers are hoping that the change will put an end to the ‘drill and fill culture’, which has emerged since the contract was brought in by the Labour government in 2006.
The trials will also look to improve dental care amongst children and put the spotlight on preventative care, which will not only improve standards of oral health in the future, but also save money for the NHS.
Alison Rayner, one of the dentists working at the Wibsey practice, said that the team was delighted to have been selected and added that everyone is looking forward to changing the way they work in order to improve patient care.
Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, said that he was pleased to see dentists from Yorkshire and the Humber signing up for the pilot scheme and supporting reforms to make the NHS dental system more effective and efficient. He added that it was “vital” that adults and children got the dental treatment they needed and said that the government was committed to launching a new dental contract that made this possible.
