Coalition set to introduce new dental contract
The Coalition government will bring in a new dental contract in the near future, it has been revealed.
The new contract will replace the one brought in by Labour in 2006 and will bring about a change to the way dentists are paid; the new contract will introduce a new system, where dentists will be paid per patient, rather than per treatment.
Under the old contract, dentists were paid per treatment carried out on an individual and many ministers claim that the system promoted a ‘drill and fill culture’; many dentists were forced to stop attending to patients because they had already done their quota and some were forced to refund patients because they did not reach the target set out by the government.
The new contract aims to improve standards of care and make the payment system fairer for dentists; dentists will be paid according to the number of patients registered, which means they will be rewarded for good practice, rather than for getting through as many treatments as possible. The government hopes to encourage dentists to focus on preventative dental care and provide optimum standards of care, as they can focus their attention on working with patients, rather than fretting about hitting targets for certain treatments.
Dr John Milne, Chairman of the British Dental Association’s General Dental Practice Committee, said the news was encouraging; he said the current contract had failed and the BDA has been campaigning for a fairer system for a while now. Dr Milne said he was pleased to see that the government was focusing on quality of care and the relationship between patients or professionals.
The government will also look at the fees paid by patients.
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