I recently joined 20 or so dentists from the Basingstoke area at an NHS Viewpoint seminar. The Denplan organised event was held for delegates to learn more about the schemes currently being trialled in the NHS pilots. It was one in a series of events being held across the country which encourages non-Denplan dentists to learn more about what could be appearing in the next NHS contract. Those in attendance earned two hours of verifiable CPD and were treated to formal presentations as well as a practical interaction session with Septodont.
Angela Beale, Denplan’s area manager, began proceedings with a brief talk dispelling some of the myths around being a Denplan dentist. Perhaps the most important thing she stressed was that private dentistry was not an all or nothing decision. Most Denplan practices are actually mixed practices, with some dentistry being NHS and some being private. Offering Denplan was not necessarily a complete break with the NHS, and it could be a gradual transition which increases the treatment options available to patients.
The second speaker was Roger Matthews, Denplan’s chief dental officer. After giving a brief review of dentistry since 2006, he went on to explain the working of some of the pilots. Whilst stressing that there has been no confirmation of what a new contract will actually look like, he explained what it was likely to contain given the information which has ‘trickled out’. The inability to find out more about what is to come was perhaps one of the reasons the viewpoint seminars have proved so popular. Much of the resentment felt towards the New Contract comes from the lack of information given to dentists prior to its implementation. Despite obviously being in favour of private dentistry, Roger was able to fairly review the reaction of the pilots, and explained that whilst there were problems with the IT systems initially the pilots, all new IT systems have bugs and take a while to get used to. He said he felt the greater concern for NHS dentists may well be a payment method which involves patient feedback, or patient oral health improvement. As Roger pointed out these are things that are in many ways out of the dentist’s hands. Patient feedback could bear no relation to the clinical dentistry given to them in the practice, and equally a patient who has no motivation to brush would struggle to see improved oral health no matter how good the work carried out by the dentist. Once again though it has to be stressed the pilot schemes are only a trial phase. There is no guarantee any of the payment schemes being trialled will be used when a new contract is rolled out.
The final presentation came from Louis McKenzie, clinical lecturer at Birmingham University, who listed his top 100 purchases as a dentist. Louis spared no opportunity to emphasise the extra time and money he enjoys since converting from the NHS, and the opportunity conversion allows to provide minimally invasive dentistry. Louis is a firm believer in private dentistry and it is always good to hear a speaker so enthusiastic about a subject. For my taste there were probably a few too many negative references to the NHS, and the conclusion urging delegates to convert made it feel somewhat like a sales pitch rather than a seminar. Having said that the title of the event was Viewpoint, and so Louis was entitled to give his – and it was hard to disagree with much of what he said given his obvious passion for his work.After the official presentations the delegates were free to ask questions. Most of the queries were directed to Roger as delegates tried to come to terms with the possible implications of any new contract. Following the formal group questions the group broke up and delegates were treated to dessert and an opportunity to speak informally to Roger and Louis. The discussion was not over at the end of the evening though, and everyone was encouraged to log in to www.denplanviewpoint.co.uk and have their say in the online forum.