Denplan, the UK’s largest dental payment plan specialist, has given a guarded welcome to the Government’s announcement today that NHS dentistry contracts are to be reformed again.
A series of pilots is to begin in April 2011 looking at ways of providing a service based on “capitation, registration and quality”. This will potentially overturn the 2006 reforms to NHS dentistry which led to many dentists leaving the NHS and reduced access to treatment by patients for the following three years.
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Chief Dental Officer at Denplan, Dr Roger Matthews commented: “Denplan member dentists have been successfully providing high quality, and preventively oriented dental care based on the principle of capitation – the number of patients registered – since 1986. This is the basis on which GPs have been paid since the inception of the NHS, but it has taken until now for the concept to be accepted by Government.”
“Good dentistry depends on a continuing relationship of trust between patient and dentist” he continued. “It remains to be seen how the details of the new proposals are developed and, crucially, whether the dental profession are prepared for yet more change”.
