Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

PUBLISHED IN LONDON F igures published by NHS Protect, the lead on tackling and identifying crime across the health ser- vice in England, show dental fraud may have cost the NHS £73.1 million in 2009-10. The Government has com- mitted to introducing a new dental contract system that will focus on improving the quality of care patients re- ceive, increase the availability of NHS dental care and pro- mote good oral health. Part of this process will include reducing the risks of den- tal fraud before it becomes a problem and proactively ana- lysing data on dental contract claims to spot irregular or sus- pect claim activity. The government will work with NHS Protect to tackle the current problem of contract fraud by: • changing how some dental treatments are recorded to prevent fraud • undertaking further analysis of dental fraud to help identify weaknesses in the system • developing an awareness programme of dental fraud risks, including workshops with local anti-fraud staff to help spot dental fraud activity • moving to a new single way of working for managing all NHS dentistry services Health Minister Lord Howe said: “This shows the cur- rent dental contract system is not fit for purpose and needs to change to ensure NHS funds are protected and used to benefit patients. “It is totally unacceptable that some NHS dentists have abused the system for per- sonal gain. Fraud of any kind will not be tolerated and any allegation of fraud is taken se- riously. “We believe dentists should get paid for the qual- ity of care they provide rather than simply for the number of treatments. That is why we are currently piloting this ap- proach with dental practices ahead of the introduction of a new dental contract to make sure we get things right and minimise the risks of fraud.” Barry Cockcroft, Chief Dental Officer said: “The vast majority of dentists behave ethically and provide high quality dental care to their pa- tients. Action needs to be tak- en against the small minority who behave dishonestly and submit fraudulent claims. We are working closely with NHS Protect to raise awareness of fraud risks to help prevent and deter fraudulent activity. “I would also urge col- leagues in the profession and patients to report any suspi- cions of fraud or corruption to NHS Protect on their confi- dential fraud and corruption reporting line or to their PCT.” Dermid McCausland, NHS Protect Managing Director, said: “NHS Protect will contin- ue to ensure that public funds are not lost to a dishonest mi- nority of dentists. Action will be taken against those who at- tempt to take valuableNHS re- sources for personal gain. “As the lead organisation in tackling NHS fraud, NHS Protect will effectively coor- dinate investigative and in- telligence resources and take swift action where suspicions of fraud are found. We will also seek the recovery of any NHS funds lost through the ac- tions of fraudsters.” Under the current con- tract the most common types of fraud include submitting false claims for patients who did not exist, claiming for patients who did not visit the dentist and submitting claims for more expensive treatment than was actually delivered. To view the NHS Protect report visit www.nhsbsa.nhs. uk/3630.aspx DT EschmannCare FIVE year warranty protection now comes as standard with Little Sister products... Go Direct Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Protected by Call 01903 875787 or visit EschmannDirect.com for details And, when you buy from EschmannDirect, the first two years of ServicePlan cover that protects your EC5 warranty are included. May 21-27, 2012 VOL. 6 NO. 13 Food labelling consultation Keeping track of what you eat and choosing healthier foods could be made easier thanks to a UK-wide consul- tation launched by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. UK health ministers want to see all food manufacturers and retailers use the same system to show – on the front of packs – how much fat, salt and sugar, and how many calories is in their products. Around 80 per cent of food products sold in the UK al- ready have some form of front-of-pack-labelling. But different retailers and manu- facturers use different ways of labelling which can be confusing for consumers. If the biggest seven supermar- kets used the same labelling for their own brand foods, it would cover around 50 per cent of the food sold in the UK and encourage others to adopt the scheme. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “Being overweight and having an unhealthy diet can lead to serious illnesses such as cancer and type 2 diabe- tes. We must do everything we can to help people make healthier choices. Offer- ing a single nutrition label- ling system makes common sense, it would help us all to make healthier choices and keep track of what we eat.” New Chair of CCDAS Deborah White, associ- ate professor and director of education at the School of Dentistry at Birming- ham, has been elected as the new Chair of the British Dental Association’s Cen- tral Committee for Dental Academic Staff (CCDAS) for the 2012/14 triennium. She was Vice Chair of CCDAS in the last triennium. Deborah joined the University of Bir- mingham in 1993 as a part- time researcher and joined the staff full time in 1999. She completed her PhD in 2000 and, as head of dental public health, has research interests in dental epidemi- ology and health services. She undertakes clinical teaching and clinical work in the salaried services in Birmingham. Deborah has been a BDA accredited trade union representative, firstly for the salaried services and more recently for university staff. In her spare time she enjoys walking, gardening and swimming. The Chair of CCDAS will be supported by Jeff Wilson, the newly- elected Vice Chair. Jeff is a senior clinical lecturer in re- storative dentistry at Cardiff University Dental School. www.dental-tribune.co.uk Taking the plunge Ken Harris takes his first MSc steps Straight teeth in less time Nick Simon looks at the options Use your head Pav Khaira discusses pain relief News in Brief Cosmetic Tribune ClinicalMSc BlogNews All smiles NSM launches at Houses of Parliament page 2 page 7 pages 11-12 pages 26-27 The government has announced that under the current dental con- tract system an estimated £70m was wasted on dental fraud in a year £70m NHS dental fraud claim