Ex-CDO Project Gets £11m Contract
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- Published: Wednesday, 26 July 2023 09:22
- Written by Peter Ingle
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Within a month of leaving the role of Chief Dental Officer England, one of Sara Hurley’s dental projects has secured major funding.
While still CDO, she was appointed a director of University of Suffolk Ltd in January 2023, and University of Suffolk Dental CIC(Community Interest Company) in March 2023. The CIC has now been awarded what the University describes as, “an innovative new dentistry contract” that will provide training and 18,000 hours of “NHS-only dental appointments” each year. The contract has a budget of 2.2 million pounds a year and has an initial 5 year term.
The University has been eager to have a dental hub which will provide both NHS care and training facilities. Local MPs in what is a recognised dental desert can now point to a prestigious local project, and have a fresh riposte to awkward questions about access.
The contract was awarded by Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (SNEE ICB) who can also claim to be taking effective action to alleviate access problems. Dr Ed Garratt, Chief Executive of SNEE ICB, said: “We took over dental commissioning responsibilities from NHS England on 1 April this year and we are determined to increase both the number of NHS dental appointments available and the dental workforce.”
Former, if somewhat brief, Health Secretary and local MP, Therese Coffey said: "Putting dentistry into the hands of the local NHS was undoubtedly the right thing to do – and I warmly welcome the action the SNEE ICB has taken so far.” Another local MP, and also a former minister at the Department of Health, Jo Churchill, has supported the project.
Toothless in Suffolk, the group that started the Toothless in England movement, is not so enthusiastic. Spokesperson Mark Jones pointed out that the proposals will not help people living in communities outside Ipswich or the immediate vicinity. He said: "Suffolk patients have been suffering for years with acute pain because they have been abandoned by the NHS. Meanwhile our NHS provider has been distracted from providing day-to-day care and treatment, consumed in a project that will have little or no effect on improving outcomes for those who cannot access NHS dentistry outside of Ipswich and the closest communities surrounding the town.
Millions of pounds are being spent, yes, but very little gain will be realised elsewhere in Suffolk."
Toothless in England went on to tweet: “All waved through with little to no scrutiny form Suffolk County Council”
Interesting details on the University of Suffolk dental hub:
— Shaun Sellars (@TheWholeT00th) July 20, 2023
Contract of £2.2m/year over 5 years.
10 surgeries.
18000 additional hours of NHS treatment.
Still no info on who’s providing the care though. https://t.co/up6wfXFWT0
There are unanswered questions about the contract and how it was won. On a practical level, the University of Suffolk press release says that the date of opening will be winter 2023. Some GDPUK readers may marvel that anyone is able to get a brand new 10 surgery dental clinic up and running in under 5 months, although those of a sceptical disposition might wonder if this indicates that the awarding of this contract was a foregone conclusion.
Local dentists complaints include poor communication about the project and its progress. There appears to have been minimal information regarding the procurement process that was followed, indeed it is not even known if there were tenders from other groups.
GDPUK has heard that at least one local practice owner expressed interest in being involved in the project, but soon gained the impression that such input was not welcome.
It remains unclear just who will be providing care in the new clinic.
A previous key question also remains unanswered, that is how an entity that was not registered or regulated to deliver dentistry was in receipt of 1.5 million pounds from the NHS to deliver dentistry. The actual CIC appears to have been set up later on, after the payment.
The Chief Executive at the University of Suffolk Dental CIC, Lorraine Mattis, who was appointed in June 2023, is well regarded. She has a CDS background and has gained a reputation for delivering strategic and operational leadership in a series of projects. Commenting on the announcement she said: “I am delighted that the University of Suffolk Dental Community Interest Company has been awarded this contract. We are excited at the prospect of developing a new model of organising and delivering dental care. This is only the start of our plans and we hope to build further innovations in the future.”
With a total of 12.5 million pounds now committed, expectations will be high.
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