NHS dental contract pilots
In December 2010, the coalition government confirmed its commitment to introduce a new dental contract based on registration, capitation and quality with the publication of its proposals for contract pilots.
A new contract will be structured to reward dentists for the continuity and quality of care provided to patients – as opposed to the number of treatments undertaken – and will aim to:
- to improve the quality of patient care
- to increase access to NHS dental services
- to improve oral health, especially the oral health of children
The contract pilots are designed to inform the development of the new contract. The Department of Health published an updated list of pilots participating in the programme on 8 February 2012.
On 29 February 2012, the Department of Health announced that ministers had decided to extend the pilot programme until March 31 2013. DH anticipates that contract extensions will be signed during May and June 2012.
More information about the dental pilots can be found on the Department of Health website:
A full list of participating pilots, indicating their Primary Care Trust and their pilot type is available
here.
Resources for pilot practices and PCTs with pilots
A virtual information resource, the Dental Pilot Resource Network (DPRN) was launched in November 2011 and is hosted by NHS Networks. If you work for a pilot practice or PCT and would like to arrange to have access to the DPRN, please contact
dentalpilots@pcc.nhs.uk, with the name of your organisation.
The NHS DS portal is available to all authorised providers and performers working in the pilot practices, and their PCTs. The portal allows access to contract activity data, including monthly reports such as, patient lists, capitation, cohort, DQoF and batch errors. All reports can be accessed by provider, contract, performer, report group and reporting period. To request log in rights, please e-mail:
dentalpilots@dpb.nhs.uk.