BDA responds to NHS dental strategy

The British Dental Association was pleased to see the NHS dental strategy Modernising NHS Dentistry – Implementing the NHS Plan finally reach the public arena following over two years of delays by the Government.

The BDA was disappointed, however, that there was nothing very new in the Strategy and that long-standing concerns about inadequate funding of all sectors of NHS dentistry have not been fully addressed.The BDA believes that of the £100 million announced for dentistry over the next two years, £40 million has already been promised and the remaining £60 million comes from savings to the General Dental Services. In order to solve the access problem, the BDA estimates that at least £100 million needs to be invested in NHS dentistry every year for the next five years, not just for the next two years.

The scheme announced commitment payments of £18 million per year in England and Wales from October 2000 for dentists loyal to the NHS, but the BDA is concerned that the strict criteria stipulated as necessary in order to benefit from the scheme means that most dentists will be excluded from the highest payments.

The BDA is also concerned that the proposed establishment of 50 Dental Access Centres by March 2001 will not be a solution to the access problem nationally. The BDA estimates that around four million people are still not receiving NHS dental care when they are in need of it.

Dentist finds trek a treat

Margaret Wheatcroft, a dental surgeon from Stourbridge in the West Midlands, took part in a sponsored trek along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru earlier this year to raise money for the Children's Society.

Participants in the trek included celebrities Penny Smith, Mariella Frostrup and Ingrid Tarrant. Margaret, who had previously suffered a heart attack, found the trek an uplifting experience. Her full story will be covered in an upcoming edition of the BDJ.

Conscious sedation unit praised

Professor Nairn Wilson, President of the GDC, recently opened the UK's first purpose-built conscious sedation unit at the University of Wales College of Medicine Dental School.

The unit will help train students in the use of low-risk alternatives to general anaesthesia. The suite will train 55 undergraduates a year in the techniques as well as retraining existing dentists.

Professor Wilson is keen to highlight the Welsh initiative to encourage other dental schools in the UK to invest in advanced facilities in the same way.

New Chief Executive appointed to BDA

The British Dental Association has appointed Ian Wylie, 44, to be its new Chief Executive from 2 January 2001.

Ian will take over from John Hunt who is to retire at the end of the year. John has been the Chief Executive for the past eight years and has been instrumental in raising the BDA's profile.

Ian Wylie is currently Director of Corporate Affairs at the King's Fund, one of the country's most influential health development organisations.

Dr John Renshaw, Chair of the BDA's Executive Board, said: 'Ian Wylie has outstanding experience and ability. By not appointing a dentist, we have broken with tradition but are confident that we have appointed the best candidate.'