Contract Reform

Commenting as the BDA submitted its responses to the Department’s engagement exercise on contract reform, John Milne, chair of the General Dental Practice Committee (GDPC) said:

“Although we welcome the government’s willingness to engage on contact reform, we are still languishing under a flawed and target-driven system, where patients with the highest need are often the least welcome.

“We now have an opportunity to make a lasting investment in the future of oral health, but the Department of Health now needs to meet with words with action. It needs to focus squarely on prevention, bring back Dental Reference Officers, and clearly indicate how a new remuneration package will work in practice.

“The devil is always in the detail.  If we are going to see a preventive approach to care, there must be a commitment to a move away from the flawed activity targets which have blighted the profession since their introduction under the 2006 contract.