July 2022
Price: £95 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
This conference focused on key issues for the future of dentistry in England.
It was an opportunity to discuss the future amid ongoing dental contract reform, and to assess whether the NHS contract requirements set out by the Chief Dental Officer for England at the start of April go far enough to support the sector - as well as service recovery following pandemic disruption, with funding aimed at managing backlogs.
Delegates also looked at the impact of the development of integrated care systems on dentistry - including navigating changes to commissioning, the impact of pooled budgets, and the role of dentistry in the wider drive to improve preventative healthcare.
Further sessions in the agenda looked at:
- care quality and professional regulation
- support for the sector
- training and education
We are pleased to have been able to include keynote sessions with Stefan Czerniawski, Executive Director, General Dental Council; Professor Jennifer Gallagher, Newland-Pedley Professor of Oral Health Strategy, King’s College London; Professor Rebecca Harris, Professor of Dental Public Health at the University of Liverpool; and Honorary Consultant in Dental Public Health, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and John Milne, Senior National Dental Advisor, CQC.
Overall, areas for discussion included:
- dental contract reform - assessing initial changes - implications for the sector - impact of the COVID-19 environment - providing clarity following prototype practices being dropped
- targets - support for practices - long-term COVID-19 management - ventilation & infection control measures - addressing concerns around the future sustainability of the profession
- workforce - dentistry education & training reform following the Advancing Dental Care Review - training to meet specific population oral health needs - workforce retention
- service restoration - addressing backlogs in balance with safety & infection control - the impact of funding - balancing routine appointment catch-up with delivering emergency dental care
- integrated care - changes to commissioning - the impact of pooled budgets on dentistry - the role of dentistry in wider focus on prevention
- professional regulation - indemnity costs - options for streamlining lower-value clinical negligence claims
The conference was an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues alongside key policy officials who attended from DHSC; and HM Treasury; along with Parliamentary pass-holders from the House of Commons.
