James was interviewed on BBC Radio Norfolk about a 5 point plan by Rishi Sunak to improve NHS dentistry.
The plan involves:
1. Ring-fencing dentistry funding
Rishi will strengthen the protections around the annual NHS dentistry budget (approximately £3bn per annum), to ensure it is maintained exclusively for frontline dental services. As part of this ring-fencing exercise, commissioners in rural areas will be required to demonstrate how they are securing provisions for communities who do not live close to a dentist, including exploring mobile clinics and delivering services at alternative sites.
2. Reforming the dental activity contract
Many dentists have opted out of delivering NHS dentistry due to problems with their existing contract. The Government has made a good start in reforming parts of the contract but Rishi would go further, reviewing all contractual arrangements and incentives, to the benefit of dentists and patients alike.
3. Improving workforce planning and training
Rishi’s Government would initiate an urgent review of the current policies surrounding the recruitment process for domestic and international dentists. This would involve looking into the factors which currently make it
easier to register as a dentist in the private sector, compared to in the NHS, such as differential training requirements and timeframes.
4. Freeing up time for dentists on the frontline
According to the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), current NHS contracts do not allow wider team members to open a course of routine treatments, meaning dental nurses, therapists and hygienists are currently under-utilised. Rishi Sunak will trust NHS professionals to get on with their jobs and act in the best interests of their patients. While some changes were announced in the recent contract reforms, he will review the wider duties and responsibilities that can be shared across dental practices, and identify opportunities for upskilling wider dental teams, enabling them to take on additional duties within their practices.
5. Early years prevention and improving dental hygiene
Prevention is better than the cure so Rishi will initiate a pilot of primary school dental check-ups with dental professionals, and more information for parents and teachers. Treating bad teeth is bad for children, means days missed from school, and ultimately expensive for the NHS so we should shift resources to prevention.
