Special care dentistry warning

The report identifies concerns around the funding and resourcing of services, the provision of facilities and in leadership, arguing that predictions of an increase in the number of people living with long-term illness, impairment and disability in Great Britain underlines the importance of safeguarding investment in salaried services.

It calls for budget allocations to be based on the historical cost of service provision, rather than recent PCT budgets, which in some areas have been set aside as a result of national cost-saving exercises, creating a postcode lottery where some services have become underfunded.

The report also presses for the continued development of flexible commissioning and contractual arrangements that are responsive to the unique needs of salaried services’ patient cohort, and for guarantees that salaried services will have access to appropriate premises.

Additionally, it advocates appropriate clinical leadership of salaried dental services, arguing that the appointment of non-dentally qualified managers presents challenges in patient care and in maintaining clinical governance standards that can lead to the provision of sub-optimal treatment.