Dental Practices Begin New Contract Trial
Selected dental practices in England will trial a new dental contract to try and improve the current system, which was introduced by the Labour government in 2006.
Sixty eight dental practices will take part in the trial and health ministers have confirmed that dentists will be paid according to the number of patients they treat, rather than the number of courses of treatment they provide. The 2006 contract has been widely criticised by dentists and dental organisations and the government have launched the trial programme to improve the system for dentists and patients.
According to the 2006 contract, dentists are paid based on the number of treatments they provide and this has caused the focus to shift from quality patient care to speed and quantity of treatment. Many have criticised the contract, saying it has contributed to a ‘drill and fill culture’.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said that the proposed changes would benefit patients, dentists and the NHS. The trial programme will be used to identify positive and negative points and the information gained by the trial period will be used to shape the new contract.
It is believed that the new contract will promote preventative dental care and improve access to dental services.
Dr John Milne, chairman of the British Dental Association’s general practice committee, said that the pilot programme was a good idea and urged the government to use the information gathered from the trial period to create an effective dental contract.
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