CDO Letter, “Clear As Mud”
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- Published: Thursday, 07 April 2022 07:46
- Written by Peter Ingle
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Delivered 5 days after the due deadline, the CDO’s latest letter to English contractors has not had a great reception. As reported on GDPUK, the letter contained two new major announcements. These were that for the forthcoming quarter, contractors would be expected to reach 95% of their regular UDA targets, and that for the previous quarter, 75% rather than 85%, would now be accepted.
The usually diplomatic BDA claimed to have “slammed” what it described as a demand that contractors return to pre-pandemic levels of delivery. GDP Committee Chair, Shawn Charlwood, tweeted that it was, “setting practices up to fail.” According to the BDA about half of practices would have failed to meet the original 85% target for the quarter ending on March 31st. The BDA also confirmed many practitioners’ suspicions, that take up of the much trumpeted 50 million pound access offer, had been “modest.”
The new 95% target for the current quarter has drawn particular scorn. Dentist, Ian Gordon of Alpha Group, quickly showed it to be less of a giveaway and more of an illusion. His calculation was simple, based upon a 260 working day year, less 9 bank holidays, there would be 62.5 days in each quarter. Q1 however has just 60 working days, which conveniently happens to be 95% of the average of 62.5. Moving on to the reduction of last year’s Q4 requirement to 75%, the timing of the announcement was “cynical”, coming after the end of that period. It was revealing that even with his experience, that he found the letter very confusing. On twitter, Chris Groombridge of the corporate trade body the Association of Dental Groups, pointed out that Q1 has long been recognized as challenging, with most practices falling under 100% in it during more settled times. When the year is assessed as a whole, the first quarter shortfall can be compensated for during the next 9 months, but if targets are reassessed on a pass or fail basis after just 3 months, many fall short.
In addition, Q1 one contains 5 of the 9 English bank holidays. BDA Chief Executive Martin Woodrow added a succinct “Pointless isn’t it Chris.” As for the 19 page guidance on year end reconciliation, on reading it even the redoubtable Ian Gordon, had “lost the will to live.”
Even more confusion was spread by the section of the CDO letter’s announcing the end of SOP’s but continuation of IPC’s. A dental managers forum was filled with queries and uncertainty on triaging and PPE, the letter being described as “clear as mud.” Meanwhile GDPUK contributors waited for the nine new signs of COVID to be added to the pre appointment triage. To add to the pressures on practices Ramadan this year falls within Q1, both affecting team members, and with observing patients less likely to make elective appointments, and it was pointed out, Ramadan will be observed twice in this financial year.
The CDO letter ended with an attempt to look ahead and promised, “a set of further changes to the current contract.” In response to universal demands for an end to UDA’s there has been a departmental shift towards talk of piecemeal contract revision, starting with “quick wins.” If there was any remaining doubt, the latest CDO letter has reminded contactors who will be winning, and who will be losing.
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