Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

PUBLISHED IN LONDON W ith D-Day for practices registering with the Care Quality Commis- sion (CQC) approaching, practic- es are still waiting for the answer to the question – just how much is this going to cost us anyway? The profession has been wait- ing for guidance on registration fees since October 2010, when the consultation on the provision of a fee scheme for all registrants of CQC was published. The con- sultation ended January 17, 2011. In the consultation, the CQC stated: We do not underestimate the impact on providers of pay- ing fees, especially in the current economic climate. We have looked carefully at our costs and will con- tinue to do so. We have a respon- sibility to collect fees from those we regulate and to demonstrate we are an efficient and effective regulator. The benefit of that for providers is related to the public assurance that being registered provides, and the access to infor- mation about providers’ com- pliance that we make available to people who use services, the wider public and commissioners of services. There is also the reas- surance of knowing that we will tackle poorly performing and un- registered providers to ensure that standards overall are maintained. We will consult every time that we propose any changes to fees, and we will provide enough de- tail so that our plans can be scrut- inised and challenged openly. We have no interest in setting fees higher than they need to be: our overall income is capped by the Department of Health, so that every pound raised in fees is deducted from the grant that we would otherwise re- ceive from central government. With the potential for fees starting from upwards of £1,500, practice owners have been call- ing for clarification of costs to en- able them to include the costs in their budget planning. The British Dental Associa- tion (BDA) has been campaign- ing for clarity in the CQC’s fee structure; also arguing for no fees to be charged to dental practices to be registered. Dr Susie Sanderson, Chair of the BDA Executive Board, said: “It is staggering that dentists are still in the dark about CQC fees so close to the deadline for regis- tration. We call on CQC to make an announcement on this issue immediately so that practices have the information they need to plan effectively for the new finan- cial year. “The BDA has made a strong case for no fee being charged for registration and we hope the delay means that CQC has been able to reflect on responses to its consultation and will draw a sen- sible conclusion that reflects the economic circumstances and the resources dental practices have invested in becoming registered.” A CQC spokeswoman said: “We will announce the fee struc- ture for dental providers next week. These providers will start to be invoiced in April.” DT March 14-20, 2011 VOL. 5 NO. 6 Cosmetic dentistry ‘most popular aesthetic treatment’ According to a recent report, cosmetic dentistry is the most popular cosmetic treatment. The survey, which was con- ducted by The Sun, found that four per cent of those who took part in the survey have had their teeth straightened, whilst three per cent have had teeth whitening. How- ever, not everyone who took part in the survey had under- gone cosmetic surgery. The report stated that 85 per cent of respondents said that they had not had any work done, but many said that relatives had suggested getting some form of cosmetic treatment. Dentists after dark A raunchy short film on vam- pires has hit the internet in a bid to young patients through the dentists’ doors. Using YouTube as their base, NHS Northamptonshire posted the advert after research found that a large population of 18-24 year-olds were not visiting the dentist. Target- ing directly to this younger generation, the short film is of a bedroom scene which goes horribly wrong when the vampire’s female victim turns the vampire away be- cause of his bad breath. The film can be seen on YouTube. New BDTA campaign launched ‘Delivering quality for den- tistry’ is the message being communicated by the BDTA to the dental team throughout 2011. The marketing cam- paign will promote members’ delivery of superior products and services, accuracy in providing the right help and support and their continu- ous development of innova- tive solutions and technolo- gies. The internal workings of a watch mechanism have provided the imagery for the campaign due to its obvious connection with precision, accuracy, reliability and the opportunity to explain that BDTA members help dental practices and laboratories ‘run like clockwork’. Link- ing in with the messages of the campaign, the BDTA will also be communicat- ing the need to include a reference to using high qual- ity equipment and materials in the right way as part of the GDC’s revalidation proc- ess. The BDTA will also highlight the importance of exhibitions and practi- cal techniques as valuable learning methods. For fur- ther information on the BDTA visit www.bdta.org.uk www.dental-tribune.co.uk Digital Steroids Dental Tribune questions the pros and cons of Facebook My Uganda Heidi Robinson writes about her dental mission Keep in contact Cathy Johnson discusses quality communication News in Brief Feature Practice ManagementFeatureNews Strange but true Dentists reveal their patients’ weird requests page 4 pages 9-10 pages 12-13 pages 20-21 CQC reg fees – just when will we know? With just two weeks before registration with the Care Quality Commission goes live, when will dental practices find out the cost?