Me Eos Review
Me Eos Review
Me Eos Review
1
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
Contents
Pages
Table of Contents 2
Chairman’s foreword 3
Introduction 4
The Review Background and Process 4
Commissioning 9-11
Management of oral surgery services in primary care 9-10
Freeing up time in OMFS departments for complex cases 10
Developing clinical networks 10-11
References 21
2
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
Chairman’s Foreword
In the process of the present review, the review group has collected, shared,
heard and been sent a large amount of evidence. Members of the review
group visited providers of OS services in South East England, Wales and
Northern Ireland who have responded to the challenge of increasing referrals
and associated costs by the introduction of alternative, highly effective, cost-
saving arrangements in primary care settings. In addition, the review group
has given consideration to the measures necessary to safeguard the future of
the specialty of OS in the interests of generations of patients to come.
With the anticipated growth in the aging population, changes in the pattern of
oral and dental diseases and many more people retaining an increasing
number of teeth throughout life, the clinical practice and underpinning science
of OS must continue to evolve to meet the future needs of patients. To
address this challenge, OS must be a strong, vibrant, integral element of
modern oral healthcare provision, let alone involved in new and emerging oral
and dental science and modern approaches to specialty training and
subsequent career development. The recommendations of the review group,
as set out in the present report, are considered to provide the means to
realise the vision for the future of OS in England.
3
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
1: Introduction
The Review Background and Process
The General Dental Council’s definition of the specialty of Oral Surgery can
be found at Appendix B.
4
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
Each element of the vision is followed by recommendations that the group
believes will make an important contribution to enhance the future care of
patients, improve access to oral surgery services, while reducing costs. It
should also allow the specialty of OS to grow, develop and attract an
increased number of trainees to safeguard the future of the specialty and
contribute to improved patient care.
NHS policy of the past 20 years has strongly advocated an increase in patient
focus and engagement to ensure that services are tailored to meet the needs
of the people who use them. Reports such as The Wanless Reporti, The Next
Stage Reviewii and the NHS Constitutioniii have outlined a vision for local,
patient-centred care and committed the NHS to a set of standards that hold
the service to account. The recent government White Paper Equity and
excellence: Liberating the NHSiv, has reinforced this commitment and
proposes to streamline the health service, and enhance team working within
the NHS workforce, to ensure that maximum resources are invested in
meeting the needs of patients and that bureaucracy is kept to a minimum.
According to the Picker Institutev, patients and the public want accessible,
local, high quality healthcare that is free, or affordable, if charges are levied,
at the point of access. They want to be involved in their care and have
flexibility and choice in their treatment. As a consequence, arrangements in
primary dental care should be such that routine OS procedures are typically
undertaken as part of the service offered by general dental practitioners.
Responses to the present review indicated that such provision of routine OS
procedures is variable across the country.
5
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
A study undertaken by Coulthard et alvi. reports that dental practitioners refer
OS cases to OMFS units for one or more of the following reasons:
Within the current fiscal constraints, the NHS is expected to deliver at least
the same level and quality of service with more effective use of resources,
thus the importance of guaranteeing value for money in high quality service
delivery and training is paramountvii. The Review Group has formed the view
that there is considerable scope for efficiency gains in the provision of OS
services, in particular, in respect of many of those OS services provided in
departments of OMFS.
6
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
Recommendation 3: To ensure that enhanced primary care OS services
remain attractive and accessible to patients, continuous quality improvements
in the provision of services and training should be funded through any
potential savings made in re-providing secondary care services in a primary
care setting outside OMFS departments in hospitals.
In 2008, Croydon Primary Care Trust appointed two General Dental Service
(GDS) providers and introduced a referral management centre to address
issues in respect of OS services. This resulted in a significant reduction in OS
referrals to secondary care OMFS. After 12 months in operation, the scheme
reported as follows on 3117 non-urgent referrals from Croydon general dental
practitioners (GDPs) that would all have entered the secondary care system:
1
The remaining 5 per cent could not be traced
7
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
% of PMETB consultation with Trusts and Health Boards,
cases
Describe the casemix in your department
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
pa S p ogy
Sk urg r
or J d ci ne
a
H di se i c
Ae l. c l d c pn y
rth trau r
i p O pl a ain
e- O r l p s ty
an gna a
r tm y
M T M edi r
co c s
ra Sk s u c e
st l s ic s
e f e o I m i al r
O uct ft
ac ur y
al su e
r o O ra i nfe es
es f O r s ur y
e
s u ry c ay cer
ca y
c i al p sur y
ra c an e
l c on
cia c o l
la
ti o F do ry
R urg y
sp ros ery
e
d e tho n
c e
ts
oe
lef Sl e ato y
fa on ci a
pa l og
m
a g
Fa i no ery
re e x ntic
in er
of in s ger
tr le
r
ic ft cas
s
th
r
a l rd
l s log
a t io
rm e r
lm c
i a ge
F a nc
ci e o
ec OM tho ge
en
s
ci pla
ra ui
ro ta s t
&N a
n s l. c
l
D n
or is o
an F nto
l a rac
a c the
g
ti c n d ofa
d e rg
lp c
r
bi la
a
f a lv
he u
io oa
he a ni
o
al
h
d
a
s t ef t r a
an ent
e
n/ S
rg l e
O
M
O
D
gl
er
c an
in
y
ni
d
tl f
ci da
ar
th
al
Cr
ex t
p
R eo
l iv
n
C
C l op
Fa c o
fa
FS c
Sa
fo
Pr
op
al
M l.
Se
sc
O xc
rt
sc
nt
po
ll
of S e
de
Fu
ll
up
Fu
pe M F
rs
nc
co O
la
ge
su
ll s of
er
va
Fu pe
Em
ro
o
ic
sc
M
ll
Fu
8
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
Although there is clearly scope to manage a large proportion of OS referrals in
the primary care sector, the scope of OS spans the management of a wide
range of conditions of varying complexity. To ensure that patients with
complex needs, together with those requiring general anaesthesia, are
managed appropriately, the review group confirms the view that some
specialist OS services continue to be provided in hospital, delivered by
Consultants in OS rather than by SAS staff. To help achieve this goal SAS
staff with appropriate skills should have opportunity to further their careers.
3: Commissioning
When cases that can and should be managed in primary care are
referred to hospital, patients are inconvenienced and the efficiency of
the service is compromised.
9
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
The 2008/9 Payment by Results tariff for ‘minor mouth procedure’ in the
OMFS specialty code 144 reveal the financial implications of an unnecessary
referral to a secondary care OMFS unit. Most OS procedures are charged
under one of two codes, with tariffs of £558 and £789. When compared with
the cost of primary care provision of around £265 per case achieved in the
Croydon project, there are potentially significant economies to be madexiv.
It should be noted, however, that costs can vary in both primary and
secondary care, depending on the extent of treatment required and the
arrangement for the payment for associated support services, but there still
remains the potential for a significant opportunity for cost reduction.
Departments of OMFS are presently managing a significant amount of OS
work, with estimates suggesting that OS procedures constitute 80% of the
caseload in many departments. The available evidence indicates that much
of this work need not be undertaken in hospital. Alternative arrangements for
this care,would in addition to opportunity for cost reduction, free up time in
departments of OMFS to focus on the complex care these departments exist
to treat.
OMFS has one of the longest training programmes of all the medical
specialties and is the only specialty that requires primary qualifications in both
medicine and dentistry. OMF surgeons are responsible for the diagnosis and
surgical management of patients with severe craniofacial trauma, head and
neck cancers, salivary gland disease, facial disproportion and other oral and
maxillofacial conditions, both congenital and acquired.
10
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
11
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
There is an urgent need for succession planning in OS.
12
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
5: Leadership in Oral Surgery
The future NHS will provide Consultant-delivered care. OS should not
be excluded from this model.
Time for Training¸ NHS Medical Education England’s review of the impact on
training of the implementation of the European Working Time Directive
(EWTD) concludes that it is ‘imperative’ that the NHS develop in each
recognised specialty a ‘consultant-delivered service’. The report recommends
that individuals who are ‘clinically responsible for service delivery should be
employed in substantive posts under the consultant contract’xix, and that
‘nearly all medical professional bodies interviewed came out in strong support
of a consultant-delivered service’.
The Royal College of Surgeons considers a Consultant-delivered service is
vital for delivery of quality care, training of a competent future workforce,
effective use of resources and patient choicexx. The British Medical
Association (BMA) cites a Consultant as someone who ‘promotes new
practices and leads innovation in new models of care for patients, new forms
of treatment, and use of new technologiesxxi
Patient safety and the provision of high quality care is the driving force behind
the present review, aimed at the provision of locally available, cost efficient
OS services to patients. Accordingly the group concluded that the future
provision of comprehensive OS services, let alone the sustainability of OS as
a specialty, would depend to a large extent on the development of Consultant-
led and Consultant-delivered care in OS, reflecting local arrangements and
patient needs.
13
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
Recommendation 16: To develop Consultant-led and Consultant-delivered
care in OS working across both primary and secondary care, specialists in OS
in both NHS and academic posts should be supported in the continuum of
development necessary to become eligible for appointment to the Consultant
grade.
14
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
APPENDIX A
Terms of Reference
• To identify the needs of clinical academic oral surgery for research and
undergraduate teaching and training
15
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
APPENDIX B
Oral Surgery
Deals with the treatment and ongoing management of irregularities and
pathology of the jaw and mouth that require surgical intervention. This
includes the specialty previously called Surgical Dentistry.
16
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
APPENDIX C
17
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
APPENDIX D
Nairn Wilson, Chairman, Dean and Head of Dental Institute King’s College,
London
Keith Altman, Consultant Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, Brighton and Sussex
University Hospitals NHS Trustltant in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Barry Cockcroft, Chief Dental Officer England
Paul Cook, Postgraduate Dental Dean Yorkshire
Chris Franklin, Chair Committee of Postgraduate Deans and Directors
(COPDEND)
Michael Hahn, Specialist in Oral Surgery
Richard Hayward, Specialist in Oral Surgery
Rachel Noble, Project Manager
James Parker, Specialist in Oral Surgery
Jerry Read, Department of Health
Bernard Speculand, Consultant Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, University
Hospital, Birmingham
Margie Taylor, Chief Dental Officer Scotland Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Derrick Willmot, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of
Surgeons England
18
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
APPENDIX E
Question Is the provision of Is there a need What are the What are the cost
education for a implications for implications of the
sufficiently Consultant-led OMFS if OS is development and
available to meet service in OS? developed? commissioning of OS?
the needs of the
service?
Organisation
ABAOMS No Yes Numerous benefits Long term significant
practical and economic
benefits
BAOMS No consistent Need for a Could compromise High set up and training
standard specialist the ability to provide costs, and potential
delivered 24/7 care, reduce the duplication of services
service, which capacity to train in
should be OS, reduce cost
delivered by an effectiveness
integrated team
and led by
OMFS
Consultants
BAOS No Yes Numerous benefits: Potentially large savings
would free OMFS resulting from providing
Consultants to focus care in PCT setting, and this
on more specialist could be invested in
procedures; majority increasing trainee numbers,
of caseload in OMFS post CCST development
departments does not programmes, development
require such of specialist OS services
extensive training
BDA No Yes Given the high The majority of hospital
demand for OS units within the UK are
service, OMFS alone currently undertaking
cannot manage this regular extra clinical
caseload sessions and waiting lists to
manage the volume of work
at a great extra cost.
Commissioners should
consider the economics of
provision of OS in
secondary versus primary
care.
2
The NHS Workforce Review Team (WRT) submitted their published document Workforce Review:
Oral Surgery, therefore specific questions were not addressed in their submission
19
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
COPDEND No consistent Dependent on Dependent on how Could add value to services
standard, and quite how OMFS OS and OMFS are
limited in some services develop commissioned in
areas future
DSC Of a high standard Yes Release OMF Would reduce costs in
but insufficient surgeons to undergraduate training,
capacity concentrate on more allow more cost effective
complex cases. No use of OMFS, reduce costs
evidence that it of OMFS training
would diminish
status or workload of
OMFS
Lay No consistent No Possible impact on Costs are likely to be
standard, with a career development significant, and would
need for require a full costing
revalidation exercise to ensure value for
money
National Limited Yes Likely that OMFS
Clinical opportunities for will be subsumed
Advisor, OS, practical into Head and Neck
Royal College of experience, lack of services, and may
Surgeons of quality assurance result in a reduction
England in Consultant and
trainee numbers
SAC OMFS Severe shortfall in No If OS flourishes in Costs inherent in
the provision of PC, this would establishing PC services, but
training remove a significant would be cheaper in the long
number of term than providing the
inappropriate same service in SC
referrals to SC
OMFS
SAC OS No Yes Reduction in OMFS Cost savings in the long
waiting times, with term with move from SC to
the ability to focus on PC provision
more complex
caseload
20
DENTAL PROGRAMME BOARD
References
i
Securing Good Health for the Whole Population, 2004
http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset
/dh_4076134.pdf
ii
Our NHS Our future: NHS next stage review, Department of Health, 2008
iii
The NHS Constitution: securing the NHS today for generations to come, Department of Health, 2009
iv
Equity and excellence Liberating the NHS, 2009
v
What do patients and the public want from primary care?, Angela Coulter, British Medical
Association, 2005
vi
Referral patterns and the referral system for oral surgery care. Part 1: general dental practitioner
referral patterns, Coulthard P, Kazakou J, Koron R, Worthington HV, 2000, British Dental Journal, 188,
142‐145
vii
Time for Training A Review of the impact of the European Working Time Directive on the quality of
training Medical Education England April 2010
viii
Equity and excellence Liberating the NHS, 2009
ix
Improving Access to Oral Surgery Services in Primary Care Kendall, Dental Primary Care 2009;16(4)
x
Oral Surgery – an assured future, Ann R Coll Surg Engl (Suppl) 2009:91:175, Louis McArdle
xi
The role of Staff and Associate Specialist doctors in the UK, BMA, 2006
xii
BMA survey of SAS doctors' workload and career progression , BMA, November 2009
xiii
Evaluation of dental practitioners with special interest in minor oral surgery, A. Pau, S. Nanjappa,
and S.Diu, British Dental Journal, Vol 208, No. 3, Feb 13, 2010
xiv
Improving Access to Oral Surgery Services in Primary Care Kendall, Dental Primary Care
2009;16(4)Kendall
xv
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Managed Clinical Network for Oral Surgery
xvi
Guidelines for the appointment of Dentists with Special Interests (DwSIs) in Minor Oral Surgery
Department of Health/Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK)
xvii
Dental Schools Council’s response to the Review of OS consultation exercise, December 2009
xviii
Career Development Framework For Consultant Appointments In Oral Surgery
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/fds/jcptd/higher‐specialist‐training/documents/CDFCA_OS_2010.pdf
xix
Time for Training A Review of the impact of the European Working Time Directive on the quality of
training Medical Education England April 2010
xx
The Consultant Surgeon and Consultant‐Delivered Service, Royal College of Surgeons
xxi
The Role of the Consultant, BMA Central Consultants and Specialists Committee, July 2008
xxii
Guidelines for the appointment of Dentists with Special Interests (DwSIs) in Minor Oral Surgery
Department of Health/Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK)
21