News Roundup

A digest of news reports and press comment specifically selected for Dental Practice Managers

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News Headlines

Headlines w/c 3rd June 2013
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General Dental Council announces first appointed Chair
William (“Bill”) Moyes has been appointed as Chair of the General Dental Council (GDC), following approval by the Privy Council.

CPD end of cycle - now’s the time to log on and log it
Dental care professionals (DCPs) coming to the end of their first full five year cycle of continuing professional development (CPD) should now be logging their hours.

CPD quality - GDC calls for information 
The General Dental Council has issued a call for information about the quality of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in UK dentistry.

New website launched as Dental Complaints Service sees surge in online visitors
A new-look Dental Complaints Service (DCS) website has gone live, offering advice and support for patients and professionals.

AXA PPP returns to dental market with new product launch
AXA PPP healthcare has re-entered the dental cover market with the launch of a new product aimed at corporates and SMEs.

BoD Practice Managers’ Conference
This year’s BoD Practice Managers’ Conference is fast approaching, hitting two dates and two locations: Bolton on 14 June and Reading on 28 June.

Prevention and Treatment of Periodontal Diseases in Primary Care
The Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) is currently developing guidance on the prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases in primary care.

Updated pay and conditions for NHS dental staff
The Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates have issued updated information about pay and conditions for NHS dental staff in Scotland.

Financial cuts hitting waiting times, NHS leaders warn
Waiting times, treatment access and patient experience will worsen in the coming year as NHS financial pressures bite, according to a poll of NHS leaders.

Headlines w/c 20th May 2013
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Scottish NHS alert line takes uk-wide calls
More than a third of calls to a confidential phone line which allows health workers in Scotland to raise concerns about NHS practices have come from other parts of the UK.

Quarter 3 dental statistics published
This quarterly report brings together information on NHS dental activity in England up to Q3 2012/13 and information on the number of patients seen by an NHS dentist.

Welsh Rubella alert follows measles
Health officials have warned that action is needed to prevent a rubella outbreak. 38,000 young people in Wales have not had the MMR jab. They welcomed the efforts to increase vaccinations in light of the measles epidemic centred on Swansea but say more people need to have the recommended two doses.

Challenges in dentistry debated in the Lords
Although there has been progress addressing some of the issues facing dentistry in England, more remains to be done, the House of Lords heard this week

IVF in Scotland
Couples in Scotland who need help conceiving will be guaranteed two free infertility treatments from 1 July. The treatment will only be available to those under 40, and it will not be offered to women who are obese.

GPs to face Ofsted-style inspections
England's family doctors will face Ofsted-style inspections overseen by a new chief inspector of general practice to secure "safe and responsive care", the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is to announce.

Monitor looks for views on NHS care funding
This discussion paper sets out possible approaches to designing a comprehensive payment system for NHS services. The consultation closes on 19th July 2013

Headlines w/c 6th May 2013
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CQC in financial checks for care homes
Large providers of care homes in England are to have their financial records regularly scrutinised in future to spot potential business problems.

GDC raise concerns over CPD quality
QUALITY is lacking in some dental CPD on offer according to findings of a four-month consultation conducted by the GDC.

Virgin Healthcare grows in prisons
Virgin Care has won a contract to manage comprehensive primary care services for prisoners at HMP Bullingdon, in a deal worth £6.6m to the private provider over three years.

111 reports serious incidents
The NHS says it has experienced seven "potentially serious" incidents in the first few weeks of its 111 urgent care helpline in England.

Care Home closure policy reversal in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland health minister Edwin Poots has done a U-turn on the policy of closing residential care homes.

Caldicott report recommends viewing audit trail
Information should be shared across health and social care when it is in patients’ best interests, but patients should be able to see an audit trail of everyone who has accessed their personal data.

CCG delegation of primary care functions
New guidance sets out the arrangements for CCGs to manage LES for primary medical care that were commissioned by PCTs, and commission out-of-hours primary medical services for their area.

Avoid merger via groupings
The formation of healthcare groups may be an alternative to mergers aiming for the benefits of collaboration without the upheaval or loss of autonomy required by a merger.

NHS staff survey in Wales shows low levels of confidence
Only 52% of NHS staff in Wales would be happy with the standard of care provided by the health service if a friend or relative needed treatment, a survey shows.

Headlines w/c 22nd April 2013
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No major NHS funding increases under Labour
"massive increases" in spending on the NHS "won't be available" if Labour wins the next election. Healthcare would always be a priority but no pledge to spend more overall than the coalition government.

Vaccination clinics busy in South Wales
More than 1,800 people have attended drop-in MMR clinics at four hospitals in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, as the death of man linked to the measles outbreak is investigated.

MDDUS warn that dentists should not assume consent
There are a number of cases where dentists have proceeded with a course of treatment on the assumption the patient is in agreement, only to be subject to a complaint afterwards when the patient claims they had not in fact agreed.

Warning that measles in London is a matter of time
LMCs have warned GPs in London to prepare for the 'inevitable' arrival of the measles outbreak in the capital and warned it could kill hundreds.

Misadventure verdict in Northern Ireland death case
The jury in the inquest into a woman who died in hospital in Ireland four days after suffering a miscarriage has given a verdict of medical misadventure

CQC publish their strategy for the next few years
The strategy document outlines changes to inspection and regulation to promote safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care, and to encourage improvements

Maximise tax relief on your practice improvements
Many healthcare professionals do not fully realise the benefit of the government’s Capital Allowance scheme, and are therefore failing to take advantage of the significant tax reductions it can offer

Cost recovery of premises costs transferring from PCTs
Funding arrangements for the cost of properties transferring from PCTs. Occupiers not currently absorbing full costs may be required to do so after 2014.

Government training initiative for the NHS to identify human trafficking victims
More victims of human trafficking will be identified with new training and advice launched today. The new tools are designed to make it easier for NHS staff to spot and give help to people who have been illegally trafficked and are available to healthcare workers across the country

Headlines w/c 8th April 2013
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DH gives exclusive insight into CSC deal
The man in charge of the Department of Health’s interim deal with CSC says it wants to normalise the health IT market and expects no more than 20 trusts to take Lorenzo under the new agreement.

Lewisham confirms Cerner deployment
Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust will deploy Cerner’s electronic patient record system across its hospital and community health services.

Dental visits a major cost to UK companies
considering it is advised to make a twice yearly visit to the dentist, the cost to a city company of 1,000 employees would be around £320,000.

Debate reignites over NHS access to cancer drugs
The controversy over access to cancer drugs on the NHS has resurfaced following the creation of a new streamlined unit in charge of funding them.

Bald men 'more likely to have heart problems'
Men who go bald may be more likely to have heart problems than others with a full head of hair, researchers say.

New sharp’s laws to reduce injuries in dental
80% of dental needlestick injuries are due to the recapping process and the requirement to remove the contaminated needle from the reusable syringe

GPs bring forward their retirement plans in looming crisis for profession
Almost half of GPs have brought forward their retirement plans compared with five years ago, as worsening morale and rising workload takes its toll on the profession.

Only 13% of public believe Jeremy Hunt is doing a good job
Less than a fifth of the public believe the Government’s health reforms will improve the NHS and only 13% believe the health secretary is doing a good job.

Dentists face unprecedented rise in complaints
MDU recruit 5 additional solicitors in an expansion of its legal team

Hospitals must shrink or shut, doctors warn
GPs' leader Dr Michael Dixon says half of services should be moved closer to patients' homes.

Headlines w/c 25th March 2013
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Injured veterans report
This report is the outcome of a conference which brought together veterans with those responsible for commissioning and provision of their health and care services

NHS Pension Scheme
The government response to the consultation on draft NHS pension scheme regulations

Prime Minister debates on health and benefit tourism
David Cameron’s pledge to “control” immigrants’ access to public services was mired in controversy today with the government struggling to explain his plans

Paid bereavement leave proposal
Should employees be entitled to paid bereavement leave?

Salaried dentists first pay rise in 3 years
Salaried dentists will receive their first pay rise for three years, after the government accepted a recommendation for a 1% increase

New reports focus on the new NHS
4 key aspects of the NHS reforms have been looked at: CCGs, health and wellbeing boards, economic regulation and providers.

Cumbria health chief still on full pay after a year
Boss stepped down as chief executive of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust in February 2012.

NHS Remote monitoring actually costs more
Remotely monitoring patients with long-term conditions is less cost effective than usual care, a UK trial suggests.

NHS priorities called into question
..many of the tensions between staff arise when targets around the lists are enforced against a doctor or nurse's better clinical judgement...

Is April really the start of a new NHS?
Ever since the NHS was created it has been dominated by two services - hospitals and GP care.

Is 111 safe?
Doctors are questioning the safety of a new non-emergency NHS telephone advice line launching in England

Headlines w/c 11th March 2013
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Is my data safe with Dental CPD Pro?
Rajeev Shah explains just how safe your online data is.

NHS Direct cuts hit admin staff
NHS Direct is slashing its back-office costs in half and expects to make more than 300 whole time equivalent staff redundant.

End of CPD cycle approaches
The GDC is continuing to remind almost 40,000 dental care professionals (DCPs) that in less than 5 months’ time they will come to the end of their first five year cycle of continuing professional development (CPD).

Government changes to NHS competition rules branded 'U-turn' by Labour
The Government has rewritten rules on private competition in the NHS just four weeks before they were due to come into effect, amid persistent concerns that the regulations were designed to create ‘privatisation by the back door’.

General Dental Council re-drafts temporary registration guidelines
The GDC has completed a review of temporary registration and as a result has now re-drafted the guidelines that govern this type of registration.

New 'teeth' grown from mouse cells
Researchers combined cells from human gums and cells from mice to create the new teeth.

NHS increases spend on independent provider services
Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) across England increased their spend on services from independent healthcare providers by 11% last year.

Prescription charge silence prevails
Health officials are refusing to reveal details of how patients could be affected by the reintroduction of prescription charges in Northern Ireland.

Headlines w/c 25th February 2013
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Only one in three men now 'normal' weight, NHS figures suggest
Sixty five per cent of men are now classed as obese – and only one in three is now a ‘normal’ weight, new figures show.

Dentist concerns over high street treatments
Dentists say they're concerned about some teeth whitening treatments being offered on the High Street.

Receptionists' 'dragon' reputation is unfair, study finds
GP receptionists’ reputation as grumpy and unhelpful is unfair because they have such a difficult job in prioritising patients with minimal time, information and training, a study has found.

European NHS doctors face tougher language checks before practising
Up to 220 senior doctors in England are to be made legally responsible for checking the language and communications skills of EU doctors coming to work in the UK from April.

Consultation on indemnity insurance arrangements
The Department of Health has launched a consultation on legislation that would oblige all regulated healthcare professionals to hold indemnity or insurance to practice. The consultation runs to 17^th May.

DoH response to the performers’ list consultation
The DoH response to the Performers List Regulations 2013 consultation has been published. following the abolition of PCTs, performer lists will be transferred over to the NHS Commissioning Board. The consultation asked 18 questions to help determine how to amend the Performers Lists system to reflect the changes made by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and recommendations made by previous reviews.

London faces downgrading of four A&E units
The move affects Charing Cross, Central Middlesex, Hammersmith and Ealing hospitals. More serious emergencies will instead be referred to A&E at Hillingdon, Northwick Park, West Middlesex, Chelsea and Westminster or St Mary's hospitals.

Scottish fears of a repeat of the Mid-Staffordshire patient death incidents
Some of Scotland's most senior doctors have warned that the patient death scandal in Mid Staffordshire could be repeated at a Scottish hospital

Headlines w/c 11th February 2013
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CB seeks 'exemplar of interoperability'
The NHS Commissioning Board is looking for a health economy to become an “exemplar of interoperability” for the rest of the country by mid-2015.

Scotland gets digital deliveries
Twelve of fourteen Scottish health boards are using PCTI’s electronic document transfer hub as part of a national project to send correspondence electronically.

Riddell steps down
Sean Riddell is stepping down as chief executive of EMIS Group.  The company’s chief administrative officer, Chris Spencer, will become interim chief executive on 21 March when Riddell retires.

Quality Accounts regulation changes
Amendments to the NHS Quality Accounts Regulations 2010. These amendments come into effect from February 2013 and change the reporting requirements for Quality Accounts

New dental practices pilot shortlist
The Department of Health has shortlisted an extra 29 new practices to join the existing 70 practices on the pilot scheme for the new dental contract from April.

Londoners wary of dentists
A new study reveals that dental patients in London are more confused about pricing and the options available to them than those in any other region.

Headlines w/c 28th January 2013
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Clinical “Senates”
Clinical senates will be established across the country from April 2013 to provide strategic clinical advice and leadership across a broad geographical area to clinical commissioning 

Long Term Sickness management report
The Government's response to the independent review of the sickness absence system highlighting the support that healthcare professionals require in helping individuals back to work

Bureaucracy in the NHS
NHS Confederation calls for action. Unless the bureaucratic burden on NHS organisations is reduced, there is a risk that frontline staff's time will be diverted from patient care to form filling and box ticking

How Quality is to be maintained
National Quality Board sets out how quality will be maintained and improved in the new health system

Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham sets out “whole person care”
Andy Burnham announces Labour’s Health Review after speaking with First Practice Management. The filmed interview is to be available to members shortly

“Value Walks” are a new approach to staff relationships in the NHS
..better health outcomes for patients will only be achieved if hospitals focus on their staff, pay attention to the way clinicians are able to interact with patients and improve the time they can spend on patient care

Food Hygiene Rating Bill gets Welsh support
Wales is to become the first part of the UK to force restaurants and cafes to display their hygiene ratings. Welsh assembly members voted unanimously to introduce a law that will make the ratings compulsory

Labour to merge health with social care
The NHS and social care budgets in England should be combined to create a super pot to meet the needs of the ageing population, Labour says

Headlines w/c 14th January 2013
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2012 accountability hearing with the Care Quality Commission
This report presents the findings of the 2012 accountability hearing with CQC and assesses the performance of the body over the past year

Christian employee wins human rights case
A Christian who was banned from wearing a cross at work by her employer has won her case in the European Court of Human Rights in a case that will be closely watched by employers

New research links tooth loss to blindness in older men
Results of the study published in the Journal of Periodontology reveal men are more than four times as likely to suffer from age-related blindness if they have lost the bone supporting the teeth compared to the general population

Joint commissioning in health and social care report
This report studied examples of joint commissioning across five sites, aiming to use examples to develop joint commissioning and look at methods of integration and implementation

Amended guidance for medicines trading
Updated guidance setting out key legal and ethical obligations for manufacturers, wholesalers, NHS Trusts, registered pharmacies and dispensing doctors have in the supply and trading of medicines.

Taxman to check dentists
Tax office to check social media activity of dentists to find out if they have more money than is evident from tax returns

CQC struggles to gain public confidence
The House of Commons' Health Select Committee said the CQC, established in 2009, had still failed to grasp its primary role to ensure patient safety

Welsh NHS changes ignore concerns
Plans for big changes to the NHS in mid and west Wales are to be finalised amid claims that patient and staff concerns have been ignored. Managers say the structure is unsuited to an ageing population and a shortage of doctors.

HSE make Legionella visits in Scotland
Businesses and organisations with cooling towers in the west of Scotland are facing checks to ensure they are managing legionella risks appropriately. Inspectors are currently visiting cooling towers and evaporative condensers in Glasgow, North Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire

Headlines w/c 10th December 2012
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Last night of the PROMS
The future of the national Patient Reported Outcome Measures programme is uncertain as the latest changes to the NHS take effect.

NHS Direct starts redundancy talks
More than 1,400 NHS Direct staff risk losing their jobs as the organisation begins a redundancy consultation period.

MDDUS warn against sloppy habits
Dentists urged not to cut corners or let sloppy standards creep into their work – or they could risk facing professional difficulties

Open all hours
Pressure is building to extend doctors’ working hours but will the cost of broadening opening times outweigh the perceived benefits?

Dental and medical school intakes
A report from Health and Education National Strategic Exchange looks ahead at the future dental and medical workforce needs of the NHS.

CCG regulations published
The National Health Service (Clinical Commissioning Groups – Disapplication of Responsibility) Regulations 2012 sets out those persons and circumstances where a clinical commissioning group is not responsible where it otherwise would be.

Consultation on “responsible officer”
A consultation on draft amendment regulations and response to the policy consultation ‘responsible officers in the new health architecture’ has been published today. This document provides the department’s response to the April consultation, and also consults on the draft regulations that will amend the Medical Profession (Responsible Officer) Regulations 2010. The consultation closes on 4th January 2013.

Issued by Dental Practice Management

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