Vulnerable patients task group

The initiative has been welcomed by the British Dental Association (BDA) when it was announced on April 26, 2013 at the 2013 British Dental Conference and Exhibition by department of health minister Earl Howe.  It will mean the establishment of a new task group that will report to the new National Dental Commissioning Steering Group, the group will be led by former BDA President Janet Clarke.

Martin Fallowfield, the Chair of the BDA's Principal Executive Committee, said:

"The BDA welcomes this initiative, which we hope will address long-held concerns about both persistent pockets of poor oral health and the challenges some people face accessing care. Reaching vulnerable and hard-to-access patients is vital if attempts to eradicate oral health inequalities are to succeed."

"The appointment of Clarke to chair the group is a very positive step. As a former Chair of the BDA’s committee for salaried primary care dentistry and a vastly experienced figure in the oral health community, she will bring a great deal of understanding to this vital project.”

The announcement follows the publication earlier this week of BDA recommendations for the future commissioning of salaried dental care in Englandhttp://www.bda.org/news-centre/press-releases/42113-bda-issues-special-care-dentistry-warning.aspx>. It also builds on previous BDA policy work on oral health inequalitieshttp://www.bda.org/dentists/policy-campaigns/public-health-science/public-health/oral-health-inequalities.aspx> and using social marketing techniques to encourage non-attenders to seek dental care.

Peter Bateman, the Chair of the BDA’s Salaried Dentists Committee, added:

“This is a positive move which we hope will address many of the issues raised in the BDA’s recommendations for commissioning salaried services that were published earlier this week.

“We hope the task group will be able to play a pivotal role in helping the profession to improve oral health outcomes for vulnerable patients.”