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A growing divide between associates’ pay and principals’ pay means calls for unity of the profession will fall on deaf ears, Michael Watson says. Last week the National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers (NASDAL), published its benchmarking report on dentists’ earnings in 2015/16. Its conclusion was that the statistics suggested the demise of single-handed dentists.…
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A future dental workforce requires better communication skills with more women in leadership positions, Michael Watson says. The number of women working in NHS dentistry is steadily rising. In 2014/15 in England, the number of female dentists stood at 11,285, a 3.1% increase on the previous year, and a 44.2% increase on 2006/07. In the under-35…
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After Mydentist had to close one of its practices in Wales, Michael Watson looks at why this seems to be becoming a trend. News came through last week that the Mydentist practice in Dolgellau will close at the end of this month. This follows an earlier announcement that a practice in Tewkesbury would also close…
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Ministers should stop shifting the blame to the NHS, Michael Watson says. A blog from Nicholas Timmins caught my eye last week. The headline read: ‘Teflon, Jeremy Hunt and the de-politicisation of the NHS’. Nicholas is a senior fellow at the Kings Fund but between 1996 and 2011, worked at the Financial Times, which is…
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The rebranding of Denplan to Simplyhealth Professionals could be a positive move for everyone involved, Michael Watson says. Last week I attended to a news presentation at the Museum of Brands in west London. The venue was not accidental as the news we were given was the rebranding of Denplan to become Simplyhealth Professionals. Since…
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Michael Watson questions whether joining all nine health regulators into one super regulator would be good for dentistry. If we had fewer health regulators, would it mean better regulation? This question was prompted by an article in The Times last week on a possible reorganisation of the nine health regulators overseen by the Professional Standards…
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Michael Watson reports on the Department of Health’s Managing dental services: a guide for commissioners, practices and dentists in England. Last week a publication appeared from the NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) called Managing dental services: a guide for commissioners, practices and dentists in England. No sooner had it appeared, than it disappeared again, withdrawn by…
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Policy makers are wasting money trying to make capitation work, Michael Watson says. An article in The Times last week claimed Whitehall wastes £500 million a year on ‘rehashed policies’ – could this apply to dentistry? Civil servants, it said, ‘waste up to half a billion pounds a year rehashing policy plans that their predecessors…
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The CQC needs to be more careful with its conclusions and the wording it uses, Michael Watson says. Last week my eye was caught by a local newspaper report about a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection of a dental practice. The practice, which is staffed by one dentist, was found to be effective, caring and…
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The government may lay the blame at the door of dentists for some patients not being able to access an NHS appointment, Michael Watson says. Last week’s NHS news was dominated by the problems of waiting in A&E, described by the Red Cross as a ‘humanitarian crisis’. Access to GPs was also in the news…
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Ministers admitting to NHS dentistry faults won’t create changes that benefit patients and dentists, Michael Watson says. I do not usually return to a topic for a second week, but last week’s blog on the ‘Kilcoyne letter’ led to much public critical comment but, privately, some who support my view. The argument put forward by…
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We should be supporting the work NHS dentists do, not making wild suggestions like those published recently in the Daily Telegraph, Michael Watson says. It is becoming a tradition that every new year the Pied Piper of the dental profession, Tony Kilcoyne, leads a crowd of dental professionals, this year numbering over 1,000, into print at the…
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Michael Watson reviews what has happened throughout 2016 in dentistry. For my final blog of 2016, I return to the topic that has dominated debate with the profession, media, the NHS and Parliament this year, the state of children’s teeth. It was back in February that the Commons Health Committee held an evidence session on…
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Dental professionals are ‘on their own’ spreading the word about the damage sugar can do to children’s teeth, Michael Watson says. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (aka sugar tax), details of which were released last week, is described as ‘a central pillar’ in the government’s childhood obesity plan. They claimed, however, that it has always…
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We could be in a position where the new dental contract will only be offered to dentists who can make it work for them, Michael Watson says. At the Local Dental Committee (LDC) Officials’ day held in London last week, there were disturbing reports from some dentists involved in the new prototype contracts. In addition,…
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There could be bad times ahead for dentistry as the NHS attempts to make savings, Michael Watson says. Last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, also known as ‘spreadsheet Phil’ presented his last and only Autumn Statement. Although some of what he said will affect dentists as taxpayers and practices as businesses, he…
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After Bupa agreed to acquire Oasis Dental Care recently, Michael Watson questions whether corporates will be good for dentistry. Last week’s news that Bupa had ‘agreed to acquire’ Oasis Dental Care for a reported £835 million aroused some interest in the profession. Bupa said the move was ‘a significant milestone’ in its strategy to offer…
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We must all hope plans to fluoridate water in Hull go ahead, Michael Watson says. Hull City Council is looking at the possibility of introducing water fluoridation. A decision should be made this month on whether to proceed and if so a full public consultation will take place. The city council has said the proposals…
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Michael Watson reports on how the new case examiners introduced at the GDC could affect the way it regulates dentistry. Last week the General Dental Council (GDC) introduced case examiners, as has been reported on Dentistry.co.uk. They will make the decisions currently performed by the investigating committee and some of those appointed were on that…
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