4th March 2022 LDC Update

04 March 2022

  1. INTERIM FUNDING ARRANGEMENTS
    • On 2nd March 2022 the Scottish Government wrote to dental practitioners to inform us of the interim funding arrangements from April 1st
    • As we understand it:
      • The Covid FSM ‘Top Up’ will cease at the end of March (paid in April).
      • From April 1st this will be replaced with a ‘multiplier’ to the Item of Service (IoS) fees that dentists claim.
      • IoS payments will effectively be paid at 1.7 x the gross fee 
        • You will be paid Line 3 as normal, then an additional amount calculated as of ‘0.7 x Line 3’ will be paid as an allowance on top of this. Tbc.
      • More simply, for every £100 of IoS you claim – you get paid an extra £70 on top.
      • Changes won’t be evident until April (paid May) schedule.
    • The PCA promises an FAQ that will hopefully demystify how the arrangements will work.
    • The multiplier will be in place for at least 3 months, when a review will take place.
    • The current IPC restrictions still apply in Scotland, both NHS and Private.
      • Fallow time and Enhanced PPE are still a requirement for AGPs. 
      • It is very unlikely this will change soon as the CDO and Scottish Government appear unable or unwilling to veer away from the overarching and excessive rules set by ARHAI, who are reportedly dragging their heels on de-escalation.
    • The BDA/SDPC response to the PCA can be found here.
  2. PRACTICE ALLOWANCES
    • Other payments described in the PCA are as follows:
      • GDPA 30% enhancement will continue but will be reviewed concurrently with the ‘mulitiplier’
      • Vague reference is made to redistributing any unused ventilation and red-band budget for general repair and improvements.
      • Vague reference is made to a one-off revenue payment, mentioning legionella and funding for additional sessions.
  3. NEW MODEL OF CARE
    • The PCA also makes a clear statement that plans for reform will move ahead this Spring to develop a new model of care.
    • The LDC cannot state strongly enough how important it is that stakeholders engage with this process. More importantly, dentists who are at the beginning of their career need to be involved, as they will be the ones working under any new arrangements. 
  4. SCI GATEWAY UPDATE WEBINAR
    • GG&C Health Board IT services are hosting a SCI Gateway refresher training webinar lunchtime Tuesday 8th March
    • Attendance details can be found in the practice generic email
  5. PDS PAEDIATRIC REFERRALS WEBINAR
    • GG&C LDC are hosting an evening CPD event aimed to update referrers of changes to how children are referred and treated by PDS  (including GA).
    • The webinar will be held 18:30 Wednesday 9th March, book here.
  6. GG&C LDC ELECTION RESULTS
    • The annual elections process for GG&C LDC has now concluded.
    • The nominations were as follows:
      • Glasgow North
        • Alexandra Paton
        • Melissa Auvray
      • Glasgow South
        • David McColl
        • Mhairi-Claire Hinds
      • Dunbartonshire
        • Elizabeth Glass
      • Renfrewshire and Inverclyde
        • Simon Kidd
        • Rebecca Conaghan
        • Stuart Davidson
    • No elections were necessary as there were enough seats in each region for the number of nominations, except R&I, where Stuart agreed to be co-opted to the committee for one year.
    • Congratulations to Melissa and Rebecca who join as new committee members.
  7. GG&C AGM
    • The GG&C LDC AGM was held in February
    • Our thanks go to David McColl, Gillian Leslie and Lee Savarrio for agreeing to speak to our constituents and for taking questions in the Q&A
    • The GDP Sub and LDC constitutions were approved and are now available permanently on our website.
  8. UNDERGRADUATE CLINIC PATIENTS
    • Struggling to clear your backlog?
    • Too many patients who need NHS work with lab costs associated?
    • The undergraduate clinics at the dental school are short of patients, such as:
      • Tier 1 restorative including first attempt endo and simple crown/bridge (not bound by SDR rules – tooth coloured restorations at no cost)
      • Tier 1 chromes and acrylics
      • Tier 1 and some Tier 2 perio cases.
    • The referral criteria, wait times, referral forms and more information are found on their website.
    • Alternatively, call 0141 211 9656.
  9. LDC MANDATES
    • Please take the time to complete a mandate to support the continued work of GG&C LDC. The process is entirely online and takes no more than a minute.
    • It is important to note that if you have moved practice or changed list number your previous mandate will no longer be active and you should sign a new one with each change. If in doubt sign one anyway, you won’t increase your commitment if you accidentally duplicate your mandate.