An independent review team to help improve access for patients who want to see an NHS dentist was appointed today by Health Secretary Alan Johnson.
Increased investment in NHS dentistry has seen improvements in some parts of the country but access remains a problem in some areas. The review team will investigate why there are variations in access and advise how everyone who wants to see an NHS dentist can do so.
The team will also advise the Government how the NHS can deliver continuous improvements in the quality of care.
Its key aims are to:
- Identify ways the Government and local NHS can work together to increase access to NHS dentists and improve quality of services;
- Investigate whether the decline in complex treatments reflects the clinical needs of patients;
- Suggest how the Government can build on its work to reduce inequalities in oral health and ensure that dentists provide the right level of preventative work;
- Recommend how funding for dentistry should be allocated to local Primary Care Trusts according to the size and particular needs of the local population;
- Identify how, over the next five years, developments in workforce planning, training, and regulation can best support the provision of high-quality dental services and enhance the working lives of dental professionals; and
- Recommend how the Government can best address the issues raised in the Health Select Committee's 2008 report on dentistry including the suggestion that more treatment bands are introduced.
Heath Secretary, Alan Johnson said,
"We are committed to improving access to NHS dentistry and in the past year have increased funding for dentistry to over £2 billion and increased undergraduate training places for dentists by 25 percent.
"It is disappointing that despite this investment there remain areas of the country in which people are unable to find an NHS dentist. I have appointed the independent review team to help us understand what more needs to be done to ensure that every person who wants to visit an NHS dentist can do so.
"The review team will also advise on how we can ensure that all NHS dental services meet the highest standards of care. We want to make sure that every patient's needs are met and that dentists are carrying out the right level of preventative care."
The independent review team will be chaired by Professor Jimmy Steele, Chair in Oral Health Services Research at the School of Dental Sciences in Newcastle and will include two NHS dentists and an NHS manager.
The results of the study, 'A Review of NHS Dentistry in England' will be published next spring.
