Download Work Programme: Dental Services Topic Group

AGENDA ITEM 5
DRAFT Work Programme: Dental Services Topic Group
Date of
meeting
Items on agenda
5th June
Remit of Topic Group
Background on Dentistry
6th August
Public Opinions
Children’s Dentistry
Finance
11th
September
Specialist Services
Quality of care
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Q to address from scoping document
(Numbers relate to numbering in the scoping
document)
Public experience of
1) Access; waiting lists, distance to travel
2) children’s dentistry
3) quality; satisfaction, understanding of charges and
future treatment, cost of treatment
4) specialist treatment e.g. orthodontics
2) What are the facilities for children’s dentistry?
a) Is there suitable access and quality of care? If not,
what are the key issues and what steps are being
taken to address these?
b) Are child only contracts performing adequately? If
not, what are the key issues and what steps are
being taken to address these?

What is the NHS budget for dentistry within
Hertfordshire? who sets it? and how is it arrived at?
4) What is accessibility and quality of care like for
specialist treatment? This includes:
a) Orthodontics
b) Sedation
c) Domiciliary services
d) The PCT dental service
Any information that can be provided for (3)
a) Do patients understand their treatment and the
costs of treatment; is it communicated sufficiently
Witnesses/ Evidence required
NB. Not all evidence has been
identified and agreed
Jane Robinson, PCT
Jenny Greenshield, Finance
Lead for Dental Services, PCT
Members of public who have
written in.
Gill Lowey, PCT Dental Services
Jane Robinson, PCT
Require expert witnesses on the
following:
Orthodontics
Domiciliary
Sedation
PCT dental services- Gill Lowey
Jane Robinson, PCT
Evidence to be identified
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AGENDA ITEM 5
to them and in a timely manner?
b) What is the process for handling complaints and is
it suitable?
c) How is customer satisfaction measured? What are
the outcomes and results?
d) How easy is it to access emergency or out of hours
treatment?
e) Is there evidence that more complex treatment has
reduced and if so does this indicate that the health
of the population has improved? What monitoring
activities are undertaken?
Information on complaints
handling
Information on use of out of
hours and emergency services
Statistics on reduction in
complex treatment.
15th October
NHS Contract holding
Dentists
Dentists experiences of
1) Access; waiting lists at their practices, loyalty to the
NHS or going toward private arrangements/
reducing quota of NHS provision
2) children’s dentistry; children-only contracts
3) quality; reduced provision of complex treatment?
4) specialist treatment e.g. orthodontics- waiting lists
Anything additional about the contract
Dentists
November
Access to services
Any information that can be provided for (1)
a) Are there waiting lists, and if so, what needs to be
done to address them?
b) Are measures taken to make sure that access is
equal for all, in both rural and urban areas? Is
there any difference between the different urban
centres?
c) Is there evidence that residents are going outside
the county for treatment because they cannot
access a dentist in their local area (including
making trips abroad)?
d) Is there a trend in Hertfordshire of more young
dentists choosing to move into the private sector or
moving abroad to practice dentistry overseas?
Jane Robinson, PCT
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a) and b) part of
overlapping work with the
PCT
c), d), e) and f) Evidence source
to be identified
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AGENDA ITEM 5
e) Is there evidence of dental practices reducing their
quota of NHS provision?
f) Is there evidence of people going to A&E or to their
GP’s regarding dental care?

December
Impact of the
reconfiguration of health
services on the provision
of acute dental services
Statistics to be presented.
Are there dentists who may wish to take up NHS
provision, who are unable to gain funding?if so how
many?
5) Is the reconfiguration of acute health services in
Hertfordshire likely to have an impact on the provision of
acute dental services within hospitals?
Jane Robinson, PCT
Discussion of
conclusions and
recommendations
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