Now is the perfect time to take part in the NHS Confidence Monitor, organised by Practice Plan, offering all dental professionals the opportunity to communicate their views on the future of NHS dentistry.

Have you ever wondered what effect your responses to the survey may have on the future of dentistry? The truth is that the significance of having your say has never been plainer, with the GDC now taking notice of respondents’ confidence levels in NHS dentistry.

At a GDC meeting in June, it was duly noted on the agenda that, as a result of the Monitor’s results thus far, the GDC needs to consider the evidence of stress among dental professionals, the implications of this on morale among the profession and how the GDC should respond to these trends.*   

With this kind of proactive response from such a powerful governing body, it is more important than ever before that all dental team members – irrespective of whether they work in the NHS or private sector – have their say.

Commenting on the survey, dentist Judith Husband, a participant of Practice Plan’s Insights Panel, which meets to discuss each survey’s results, and a member of the BDA’s Principal Executive Committee, said: ‘As the first of its kind in the UK and leading the way in informing the dental team, it is wonderful that we are now in a position to use the data gathered to offer advice on a continuing basis, helping everyone working in dental practice to rise above any perceived challenges and improve the situation for professionals and patients alike.’

To take part in the latest NHS Confidence Monitor and share your thoughts, please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PracticePlanNHSConfidenceMonitor4 before the closing date of 31st July 2016. The survey should take approximately three minutes of your time.

For detailed results from the last three surveys, visit www.nhsdentistryinsights.co.uk. Here you can also access the discussions from our previous Insights Panel, made up of key opinion leaders and experts from the dental profession who explore and debate the significance of the survey results and their implications for the future of the NHS.

* For full details visit http://bit.ly/29be2vS (see page 12, item 62).

The fourth NHS Confidence Monitor survey is now live, offering all dental professionals – whether in NHS or private practice – the opportunity to share their views on the future of NHS dentistry.

Since its launch in December 2014, the aim of the survey has been to gain insight into all team members’ confidence levels in the future of NHS dentistry.

Commenting on the survey, Judith Husband, who sits on the BDA’s Principal Executive Committee, said: ‘The last NHS Confidence Monitor carried out was the most extensive so far, having grown in popularity partly because all team members want to have their say on the potential for change.

‘As the first of its kind in the UK and leading the way in informing the dental team, it is wonderful that we are now in a position to use the data gathered to offer advice on a continuing basis, helping everyone working in dental practice to rise above any perceived challenges and improve the situation for professionals and patients alike.’

To aid understanding for everyone involved in the delivery of dentistry, a number of new questions have been added to this survey, including one on whether NHS dental professionals feel that an improvement in their confidence could be derived from something other than a change in the NHS contract. The answers to this may go some way to supporting the profession in turning the current, low-confidence situation around, so your opinion really does count.

As previously, the survey will also monitor the profession’s confidence in:

•                The future of NHS dentistry as a whole

•                Future career prospects

•                Remuneration levels

•                Getting the balance of treatment versus prevention within the NHS right

•                The ability of the team to work effectively within the NHS

•                Whether patients will be happy with level of care provided.

Eddie Crouch, Vice Chair of the British Dental Association Principal Executive Committee, had this to say about the forthcoming roll-out of the survey: ‘With three sets of data behind us, there is no denying the value of the results gathered to date. As well as helping to enlighten the profession, the information gathered can be used as a springboard to support dental teams in planning for a better future.   

‘The more information we can gather, the better the advice experts in the field will be able to offer. So, for instance, the concern shown in the survey about the dental team’s ability to work effectively within the NHS has led us to look into how a principal might improve the skill mix within the practice to deliver the best possible results.

‘As the picture of the future of NHS dentistry builds, more and more dentists and their teams will be able to benefit from the Monitor results, to enable effective future planning for all dental practices, whatever the future may hold for NHS dentistry.’

To take part in the latest NHS Confidence Monitor and share your thoughts, please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PracticePlanNHSConfidenceMonitor4 before the closing date of 31st July 2016. The survey should take approximately three minutes of your time.

For detailed results from the last three surveys, visit www.nhsdentistryinsights.co.uk. Here you can also access the discussions from our previous Insights Panel, made up of key opinion leaders and experts from the dental profession who explore and debate the significance of the survey results and their implications for the future of NHS.

The third NHS Confidence Monitor has revealed that 70% of survey participants would not recommend dentistry as a profession to a family member or friend.

To reflect the profession’s growing interest in the NHS Confidence Monitor, this latest survey was launched to enable all members of the dental team to share their thoughts, providing a deeper and wider understanding of the whole profession’s perception of NHS dentistry. With 590 participants, it is the most comprehensive survey in the series thus far and makes it clear that all dental team members feel similarly to those dentists who answered the questions posed by the previous survey in the summer of 2015.

As before, the survey monitored the profession’s confidence in:

•               The future of NHS dentistry as a whole

•               Future career prospects

•               Remuneration levels

•               Getting the balance of treatment versus prevention within the NHS right

•               The ability of the team to work effectively within the NHS

•               Whether patients will be happy with level of care provided.

In addition, the survey was extended to explore two new issues: whether respondents would feel happy encouraging a family member or friend to pursue a career in dentistry, and their proposed age of retirement to gauge the possibility of a staffing crisis in the future.

When considered as a whole, the NHS Confidence Monitor indicates that an overwhelming majority of dental professionals are lacking confidence in many aspects of NHS dentistry.

Speaking about the results, Judith Husband, a dentist who participated in the second Insights Panel meeting and who sits on the BDA’s Principal Executive Committee, commented: ‘I was unsurprised but nonetheless sad to learn that confidence levels are so low among dental team members across the board. We need to look at these figures within the general landscape of dentistry, so not only how the NHS contract is affecting the profession, but also regulations, the role of the GDC, and the levels of patient complaints. All of that can make practising NHS dentistry a daunting prospect, to say the least.’

Looking at the results in greater detail, it was further revealed that dentists’ desired age of retirement ranges significantly, with an average of 60 years old.

In relation to this outcome, Andrew Lockhart-Mirams, co-founder of Lockharts Solicitors and a member of the Insights Panel, said: ‘We are seeing a greater number of dentists considering their retirement plans earlier than ever before. 60 may not seem a young age to retire, but certainly the number of people who, broadly speaking, have said to me that they are retiring four or five years earlier than they had anticipated is growing. The age has come down, without any doubt at all.’

The results of the latest survey will shortly be presented to an ‘Insights Panel’ made up of key opinion leaders and experts from the dental profession who will explore and debate their significance and implications for the future of NHS dentistry. The panel’s findings will then be shared with dental professionals throughout the UK.

For detailed results from this and the last two surveys, as well as to gain access to the discussions from our previous Insights Panel meetings and interviews with our panel members, visit www.nhsdentistryinsights.co.uk

This Friday 18th our NHS Dentistry Insights Panel are meeting to discuss the results of our latest NHS Confidence Monitor survey. The panel consists of 6 KOL's and dentists, including Eddie Crouch, Judith Husband and David Houston. If you'd like us to pose your question on NHS dentistry to our esteemed group, please post them here and we will feed back their answers after the event.

You can view the latest results of the confidence monitor here http://www.nhsdentistryinsights.co.uk

Notes:

The NHS Confidence Monitor is an independently verified survey commissioned by Practice Plan.

The NHS Confidence Monitor was conducted to gain insight into the confidence levels in NHS dentistry. The results will ensure Practice Plan has the most up-to-date information to provide the very best support to dentists looking to make an informed decision about the future of their practice.

The third forum of key opinion leaders will be held in March and includes Judith Husband, Eddie Crouch, Andrew Lockhart-Mirams, Sarah Franks, David Houston and Paul Worskett. Information on their thoughts will be released soon.

Practice Plan is the UK’s number one provider of practice-branded patient membership plans. They have been supporting dentists with NHS conversions for over 20 years, helping them to evaluate their options and, for those who decide to make the change, guide them through a safe and successful transition to private practice.