Winchester Dental Team Looking Forward To Joining NHS Pilot Scheme
A dental team in Winchester is gearing up to participate in a national pilot scheme to trial new ways of working and improve the NHS dental contract.
St James Dental Practice has been selected as one of 29 new practices to join the scheme, which is already underway, in April; the pilot project launched in 2011 with 70 practices around the country and 29 will be joining in April for the second stage. The aim of the pilot scheme is to identify problem areas and find new, effective ways to provide care for NHS dental patients.
Among the most pressing issues are the way dentists are paid and preventative dentistry; dentists and health ministers are eager to encourage people to take responsibility for their oral hygiene to try and reduce rates of decay and gum disease; one of the measures being trialled by the participating practices is a traffic light system, which informs people about their oral health and oral hygiene practices; patients who are doing well will be given a green light, while a red light will be recommended for patients who need to do more in terms of their oral hygiene habits.
After giving the relevant traffic light colour, dentists will provide patients with advice and information about oral hygiene in the hope that they go away and use the guidance to improve their oral health and reduce the risk of developing oral illnesses.
Dr Barry Cockcroft, chief dental officer for England, said that he was “delighted” to welcome St James to the second stage of the pilot scheme; he added that the project is extremely important and will play an essential role in the formation and development of the new NHS dental contract with a view to improving patient care and enabling dentists to focus on their job, rather than worrying about bureaucracy.
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