DLA takes to the road in its fight for dental laboratories hit by the new dental contract
After the substantial support gained by the DLA from MPs across all parties in Westminster regarding the catastrophic decline in band 3 treatments being prescribed by NHS dentists since the new dental contract started in April this year, the DLA have begun their next round of talks with the organisations now allocated the responsibility for commissioning NHS dentistry regionally – the Primary Care Trusts.
Over the summer, Richard Daniels, DLA Chief Executive, contacted every Primary Care Trust in England and Wales to highlight the significant impact the new dental contract is having on NHS patients within their boundaries.
Already the DLA has been represented at PCT level by Jim Mackie, DLA Chairman Elect, at the Aylesbury PCT. Jim reported ‘The meeting proved to be very useful in terms of getting the message across about the impact the new contract is having on dental labs, it also gave me an opportunity to progress the discussions being held at a national level to the very people that have the authority and the ability to make things happen, in my opinion the DLA must now consolidate its national activity with a concerted lobbying plan at local level where members will hopefully see further benefit from DLA activity’.
In addition to the Aylesbury PCT, the DLA will be meeting with Bedford, Calderdale, Broxtowe & Hucknall, Herts, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Sussex, Sutton & Merton, Westminster, West Norfolk, Bromley, Thurrock, Rotherham, Bolton, Burnley and Kingston.
At these meetings the DLA will not only be informing the PCTs of the effect of the new contract but also with credible action points that the DLA believe will reform the current NHS dental contract from one that provides dentists with a perverse incentive to under prescribe, to one that provides NHS patients with clinically appropriate treatment within the parameters set by the Department of Health, without financially penalising the dentist.
As has been the foundation of the DLA lobbying with MPs, the DLA will be pushing for local monitoring of dental treatments in band 3 to be increased so that types of treatment can be identified in a manner that is comparable to that under the old fee per item system.
The DLA will also be asking for the PCTs to consider payment direct to laboratories for band 3 treatments offered under the NHS, as the DLA believe that this would offer cost neutrality for the dentist when offering a course of treatment alongside budget control for the PCT and hopefully a better dental experience for the patient.
When asked about the latest stage of lobbying by the DLA, Richard Daniels, Chief Executive said, ‘For DLA policies to be adopted we must forge partnerships with the ‘Dental Leads’ in all of the Primary Care Trusts as these are the new paymasters of dentistry now. Under these new contractual arrangements it has to be acknowledged that whilst lobbying is essential at national level, to keep dentistry and particularly the new dental contract on the political agenda, for dental laboratory businesses to survive this period of change, action needs to be taken at a local level. The Primary Care Trusts are the second part of our action plan to represent DLA members that supply the NHS, and I hope that in the near future the DLA will be able to announce further success in terms of accessing another key stakeholder within the NHS’.
Implementation Review Group meet:
minister starts to acknowledge the problem isn’t going away.
The DLA were again present at the Implementation Review Group represented by Jim Mackie and David Smith. On this occasion the Minister for Health was only present for the first half of the meeting, however, in this short time the Minister made pointed reference to the dental laboratory industry and the continued concerns of the DLA on a number of occasions. As a result she has asked her team to meet with the DLA to clarify the figures currently being circulated in order for her to consider the next step – watch this space...
Keeping the DLA up to date
The DLA has issued a number of surveys to its members so that the figures quoted nationally and locally represent the work being currently carried out for the NHS by DLA members. The DLA is also working closely with trade affiliate members to collate their sales figures with those of the dental laboratories. Your input into these figures is vital, for the DLA to represent your businesses best interests they need to know that the picture they portray of the NHS reflects that of the one in your business.
