NHS Terminates Five more Merseyside Contracts
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- Published: Tuesday, 12 November 2024 10:40
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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Notwithstanding an appeal, five dental practices across Cheshire and Merseyside with NHS contracts have now had their contracts terminated with ‘immediate effect‘.
As reported in GDPUK on 21st June, Sefton Dental Centre in Bootle, Liverpool, was found during an NHS Commissioning Team ’spot check’ in May 2023, to have an insufficient number of clinicians to deliver its contract.
Operating under the umbrella of Smart Dental Care Ltd, the practice was deemed ’non-compliant’ and issued with a remedial notice. The next stage saw the practice being told it had ’failed to take the required action by the stated deadline.’
In August 2023, Smart Dental group was issued with a termination notice for failing to deliver the required level of NHS service in relation to contracts held by five of its dental practices:
- Smart Dental Care – Chester Dental Clinic (Chester)
- Smart Dental Care – Picton Dental Practice (Picton, Liverpool)
- Smart Dental Care – Poulton Dental Practice (Wallasey, Wirral)
- Smart Dental Care – Sefton Dental Practice (Bootle, Sefton)
- Smart Dental Care – Warren Drive Dental Practice (Wallasey, Wirral)
Smart Dental Care which, according to its website expanded from a single practice in 2007 to over 30 today, disputed the claim but has failed in its bid to challenge the termination decision.
According to an announcement on its website, Healthwatch Sefton informs readers "The provider (Smart Dental) challenged this decision, but further attempts at local resolution have not resulted in a satisfactory solution being identified.
The situation was referred to Primary Care Appeals (NHS Resolution), the organisation responsible for ensuring the fair resolution of disputes between primary care contractors and NHS England/integrated Care Boards (ICBs).
The outcome of this appeals process is now complete, and has resulted in the decision for all five dental contracts to be terminated with immediate effect. This means that the five above practices will no longer be able to provide NHS dental care to any patients."
Healthwatch says that thousands of patients will be affected by the cessation of NHS dentistry at the five practices, many of them in areas of high deprivation where private alternatives would prove financially prohibitive.
Its statement informs patients "Under the terms of the contract termination, the dental providers (Smart Dental) are responsible for writing to their patients to let them know that they are no longer providing NHS care. NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s dental team are working closely with the provider to ensure that any ongoing NHS treatment is completed in a timely manner, via an alternative local provider.
The team is continuing to work on a solution for affected patients, and we will keep you updated on this situation as it progresses."
All of which will be cold comfort for the majority of those affected. Fortunately, the area does operate an urgent care dental service to whose number and opening hours patients in pain are signposted.
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