The LDC welcomed VS to the meeting, who was recently co-opted onto the LDC as the Mendip constituency representative.

Transcription

1 Minutes of the Somerset Local Dental Committee (LDC) Meeting on Tuesday 19 November 2013 and held in The Fountain Inn, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2UU, meeting commenced at Present: Geoff Worrall (GW) Andre Louw (AL) Mike Biccard (MB) Lucy Silk (LS) Richard Leworthy (RL) Peter Hollins (PH) Gary Irvine (GI) Simon Albiston (SA) Jane Foggin (JF) Vinay Shah (VS) Martin Fulford (MF) Somerset Local Dental Committee Chairman Somerset Local Dental Committee Secretary Somerset Local Dental Committee Treasurer (co-opted) Professional Dental Lead, NHS England Area Team Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSSG) In Attendance: Emma Childs (EC) Secretarial Support 1 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS The LDC welcomed VS to the meeting, who was recently co-opted onto the LDC as the Mendip constituency representative. GW advised the group that VS is the representative for Mendip rather Somerset Coast (Somerset Coast is the location of the Dental Practice in which VS provides dental services). He explained that In the past the LDC has experienced difficulties in being able to fill the vacancy for the Mendip constituency. It was therefore agreed at the previous LDC meeting to co-opt VS onto the LDC to represent Mendip. 2 APOLOGIES 2.1 Apologies were received from Matthew Clover (MC) (Member of the General Dental Practice Committee (GDPC)), Will Newport (WN) (Policy Advisor and Regional Consultant for South West England), Bob Gordon (BG), John Smalley (JS) and Lucy Silk (LS) (s). 3 THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING 10 SEPTEMBER The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as an accurate record. NOTE: Due to JS s apologies for absence prior to the LDC Meeting, GW read an received from JS, in which the LDC discussed during the meeting as Matters Arising : 4 MATTERS ARISING 4.1 Prior to the LDC Meeting, JS circulated to all the Dental Practices in Somerset the minutes of the last LDC Meeting on 10 September As a result, the Dentists raised a series of queries in relation to the items discussed during the last LDC Meeting (this included concerns regarding the Area Team and the prescribing of 1

2 Amoxicillin). The Dentists queries were discussed during the LDC meeting as set below: The on-going issues with the Area Team BNSSSG regarding their limited communication with the Dentists The slow pace in which the Area Team are currently operating (e.g. The time lag from the Area Team adding a new Dentist onto a Dental Practice s GDS Contract) The Dentists in Somerset have questioned why the Providers UDA contractual activity cannot be circulated between sites if they are within the same employing group (this is a particular important issue for Practices who have almost achieved their annual contracted activity) The appropriate prescribing dosage for Amoxicillin within Dentistry The LDC discussed at length the matters raised by the Dentists. JF joined the meeting 4.2 Dental Query (1)- NHS England Area Team, BNSSSG re. Communication RL informed the LDC that he had contacted Rachel Coke, Assistant Dental Contract Manager, BNSSSG regarding the Area Team s limited communication with the Dentists and the provision of UDA s in Somerset. Rachel Coke had informed RL that it is the Area Team s intention to improve their approach in communicating with the GDP s in Somerset. Rachel Coke has however informed RL that the Area Team desperately require all Dentist s addresses as the Area Team claims to have only 60% of all Dentists addresses. RL informed the LDC that Rachel Coke has asked all Dentists to send their addresses to england.bnsssg-dental@nhs.net. The LDC agreed that they will include the Area Team s address on their newly developed Somerset LDC website. The LDC has however agreed that the length of time the Area Team has taken to add new Dentists onto the Somerset s GDS contracts, is completely unacceptable. The LDC will evaluate its progress over the next few months and decide at the next meeting whether to take the matter further. 4.3 Dental Query (2)- NHS England Area Team, BNSSSG re. Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) in Somerset RL also discussed with Rachel Coke seeking clarification on the Area Team s approach to the circulation of a Provider s UDA s within their multiple sites. The Area Team has explained to RL there may be potential to circulate UDA s within sites. However, it is proving to be problematic for the Area Team to move UDA s within sites due to the Providers different site UDA values. The LDC agreed that the situation is still ambiguous, and the LDC will continue to be proactive in obtaining further information from the Area Team on behalf of the Dentist s in Somerset. The item is to be discussed further during the next meeting Dental Query (3) The Appropriate Prescribing Dosage of Amoxicillin A Dentist had queried in an to JS the correct prescribing protocol for Amoxycillin. He has been advised from another source that, in their professional opinion, the correct dosage for Amoxycillin in dentistry is 500mg as appose to the previous guidelines of 250 mg. MF informed the LDC that the appropriate recommended dosage for the prescription of Amoxicillin is sourced within the last issued BNF. The BNF currently indicates a change in the prescription of Amoxycillin from 250mg to 500mg. LDC Membership Expression of Interest GW informed the LDC that Jennifer Madelaine (North Petherton) had contacted JS 2

3 expressing an interest in joining the Somerset LDC. The LDC was pleased and actively encourages all expressions of interest in joining the LDC. The group agreed to discuss Jennifer Madelaine s expression of interest further during Item 9 LDC Constitution: Proposed Changes to Constitution. 4.6 Somerset LDC Summary The LDC commented that it was incredibly positive that the Dentists have provided feedback/questions and want to engage in LDC matters following the circulation of LDC meeting minutes. The LDC believed this process of active communication should be continued in the future. 5 SOMERSET LDC WEBSITE EC presented the LDC a preview of the newly developed Somerset LDC website which had been signed off by the sub-committee. The LDC was pleased with the final product, and thanked EC for the previous work undertaken in the development of the Somerset LDC website. EC reminded all Somerset LDC committee members to their photographs for the website to her as soon as possible. The LDC agreed to the following amendments within the Somerset LDC website: To include the NHS England Area Team BNSSSG address on their website, england.bnsssg-dental@nhs.net To potentially include a handful of NHS Policy Documents MF s address is to be included on the website as a point of contact for the Somerset Dentists if they require any Clinical Governance advice from MF The LDC agreed the website should ask Dentists for ideas for future Postgraduate courses. This will assist LS in her newly appointed position as Postgraduate Tutor EC will liaise with the Website Designers to amend the website as appropriate, and proceed to launch the website live. CONNECTING WITH COLLEAGUES MEETING (LUCY SILK) LS circulated to all LDC members prior to the meeting, an Evaluation Report of the last Connecting with Colleagues forum that took place on 13 November GW read the report on behalf of LS who was unable to attend the LDC meeting. The outcome of the Evaluation Report was that the forum was another success. It was attended by approximately twenty dentists with the majority having attended one or all of the previous forums. In contrast to the previous forums, Patricia Van Zyl, a Restorative Specialist and Post-graduate Lecturer from the University of Stellenbosch, addressed the forum on the topic of Impression techniques for fixed prosthodontics. LS s Evaluation Report stated that the feedback from the dentists was overwhelming positive about the evening, although there was general consensus that format of the forum was slightly too formal. The LDC agreed that the next forum in March should be more informal to encourage more active discussion amongst the dentists. MF suggested potentially that future forums may wish to include discussion topics involving clinical issues (e.g. limited radiographs being taken within Practice and the over prescribing of antibiotics). MF will send to LS a list of recurring Governance issues, which have been highlighted within Practice as potential discussion topics. The LDC discussed the problem of dentists booking a place on the forum and then not attending the event. The forum originally catered for 31 dentists but only 20 dentists 3

4 attended. This contributes to a financial loss of money for the LDC in hosting such an event. The LDC expressed their disappointed that the dentists who did not attend the forum had not informed the LDC prior to the evening event. The LDC agreed they would keep a list of the dentists who failed to attend the forum to prevent reduce further future losses Originally, the LDC agreed to fund the Connecting with Colleagues forum as a LDC pilot for one financial year. Members debated if LDC should continue to fund the forum post-april It was agreed amongst the group that the forums have proven to be very beneficial to dentists. The LDC thanked LS for the work she put in over the past year. A vote was carried out and all LDC members agreed to fund the forums for another year. PILOT LPN MEETING (RICHARD LEWORTHY) RL reported that the Pilot LPN Meeting had been cancelled at the last moment. The item was deferred to the next meeting. 8 DENTAL LEAD (MARTIN FULFORD) 8.1 MF provided to the LDC the latest Dental Lead update LDC CONSTITUTION: PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION Proposed Changes to the Constitution There was a lengthy discussion regarding amendments to the LDC constituency due to the continuous predicament to recruit LDC representatives from certain constituencies of Somerset AL seeked the views of the LDC of the proposed course of action in how the LDC elects new members within the four Somerset constituencies. The LDC discussed the matter in great detail and proposed the following potential courses of action: Each constituency has a minimum of two elected eligible voting members (who are either living or practicing Dentistry within that constituency). The remaining four available seats within the LDC are open to all Dentists within Somerset. The LDC agreed this may be a viable option particularly with the LDC experiencing great difficulty previously recruiting a member for Mendip The LDC debated due to demographics, Taunton Deane has always been oversubscribed in regards to practicing Dentists in the area. Another proposed viable option was to move a seat from Mendip to Taunton Deane Review all Dental Practices within Somerset particularly focusing on the number of Practices for each individual constituency; and then decide the appropriate course of action during the next meeting To be discussed further during the next meeting The LDC agreed to review the number of Practices within the four constituencies. During the next LDC meeting it was agreed the group will vote regarding how the voting constitution will be amended. Audited Accounts MB proposed changes to the constitution in the way the accounts are monitored. MB recommended to change the current situation where accounts have to be audited annually by an Certified Accountant to where accounts only have to be certified annually by a Certified Accountant. The LDC voted and agreed to MB s suggestion. 4

5 10 SUCCESS (LUCY SILK) GW informed LDC on LS s behalf that the scheme is still going well although it has been quiet recently. A further update will be provided during the next LDC Meeting. 11 ANY OTHER BUSINESS 11.1 Performance Steering Group and Performers List Group (PSG PLG) GW explained that Somerset LDC was unable to provide a representative to the PSG PLG due to the short notice LDC received of the meeting CPD Dental Clinical Governance Event, 22 January 2014 EC provided an update to the LDC regarding the current progress of the Clinical Governance Event: There are currently 50 Dentists attending the forum (equivalent to 18 Dental Practices) The Event Speakers have been contacted and will send EC s their powerpoint presentations by Christmas 2013 EC has ed GW a Welcome and Introductions powerpoint for the event which EC/GW will discuss/develop further post-ldc meeting EC will all attendees prior to Christmas to ensure they are all attending the event in January In addition, EC informed the LDC that the Clinical Governance Event is progressing well and is all in hand for January 12 DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next Somerset LDC Meeting will be on Tuesday 18 March 2014, The meeting venue is yet to be confirmed. 5