Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

Tel: (01463) 223399 Email: icpltd@ident.co.uk Web: www.ident.co.uk SUPPORTING DENTISTRY SINCE 1993 Enjoy 0% Admin Fees when you join IndenpenDent I ndepenDent Care Plans (ICP) are experiencing a sustained period of growth in their busi- ness, working with more and more dental practices who want to introduce new dental plans to their patients or indeed switch from other providers where cur- rent service levels are not met. At a time of financial pressure on both dental practices and their patients, IndepenDent Care Plans are pleased to experience contin- ued success in providing a service to dentists that helps increase ad- ditional regular income whilst providing their patients with a dental plan they can budget for. As a result of the current growth, the company are also bucking the trend of staff sup- port levels by increasing their Business Development team to support practices introducing, converting and developing their patient dental plans. Therefore ICP are de- lighted to announce that Wayne Mayhew has joined the IndepenDent team as our new Business Development Con- sultant, bringing with him a wealth of experience in both the Dental & Healthcare sec- tors. Mayhew is very experienced working with Dental practices and in particular with Dental Plans, having previously worked for Isoplan where he enjoyed de- veloping fantastic and successful relationships with many Dental Practice teams. Mayhew will provide busi- ness development support and advice, including guidance on marketing, conversion manage- ment, banding rate assessment and team training needs, helping practices to implement and grow their patient plans. Gary Moore, Business De- velopment Manager for ICP said “We feel Wayne is a great acquisition to the team and furthermore cements Inde- penDent Care Plans growth in the market whilst providing Prin- cipal Dentists with a further op- tion as their preferred Plan Pro- vider”. DT New appointment at In- depenDent Care Plans Wayne Mayhew T he Care Quality Com- mission is seeking feed- back from health and social care staff. The CQC claim that ‘our job is to check whether hospitals, care homes and care services are meeting government standards’. The website shows the latest reports on whether government standards are be- ing met, which includes en- couraging both patients and health workers to share their experiences or report a specific concern. The questions included in the recent survey include: • ‘Overall, how well do you think CQC is ensuring that all providers meet the essential standards of quality and safety?’ • ‘Overall, how well do you think CQC is ensuring that all providers are supporting qual- ity improvement in health and social care?’ • ‘How clear are you about what you need to do in your role to ensure that your organisation is meeting the essential stand- ards?’ • And ‘Are you aware of CQC’s process for raising a concern about quality of care (whistle- blowing)?’ These questions are worthy of dentists and dental health workers time since the Care Quality Commission have just started regulating primary den- tal care for both private and NHS services, publishing up-to- date information assessments received on their websites. DT Care Quality Commission survey T he Australian Depart- ment of Health and Ageing has announced a six year dental package for low-income citizens in rural areas. Three million children are now eligible for the gov- ernment- subsidised dental care, as well as one million low-income adults and pen- sioners, according to Tanya Plibersek, Minister for Health. The package includes the following: • $2.7 billion for 3.4 million Australian children who will be eligible for subsidised den- tal care • $1.3 billion for 1.4 million additional services for adults on low incomes, including pensioners and concession card holders, and those with special needs • $225 million for dental capi- tal and workforce to support expanded services for people living in outer metropolitan, regional, rural, and remote areas The $4 billion package is in addition to the $515 million announced in the 2012-2013 federal budget. It will replace the Medicare Teen Dental Plan and the Chronic Disease Dental Scheme (CDDS). DT Australia promises $4B for dental care in rural areas September 10-16, 2012United Kingdom Edition