Manager Practice Half of adults in England avoid dentist


NEARLY half of adults in England have not seen a dentist in the last two years according to data from NHS Digital. The data also shows that 42 per cent of children (4.9m) in England have


not had a check-up in the 12 months to June 2016, despite NICE guidelines recommending children should be seen by a dentist at least once a year. The British Dental Association has expressed concern that rising charges


(five per cent last year) are discouraging patients in need of care and driving an estimated 600,000 people each year to GP practices for treatment, despite doctors being neither trained nor equipped to provide dental care. Dental leaders have urged government to deliver a coherent oral health


strategy and effective public engagement. Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, Chair of General Dental Practice at the BDA, said:


“It’s clear we have a problem when more than one in three children are missing out on free dental treatment. We need a concerted effort to get parents, health professionals and government on the same page.”


Capsticks offers discounted legal advice on practice


business matters MDDUS has announced a partnership with law firm Capsticks that enables GP and practice manager members in England and Wales to access a free 20-minute legal consultation and ongoing discount rates on non-indemnity issues. Capsticks Solicitors LLP will provide MDDUS GP and practice managers with a


host of benefits including up to 20 minutes of free business and corporate legal advice, as well as access to a full range of practice and business legal services at specially discounted rates. Sam Hopkins, partner at Capsticks and head of the GP legal support team,


said: “We are very excited to be working in partnership with MDDUS and look forward to supporting their GP and practice manager members with their non- indemnity legal issues during what is a particularly challenging time.”


Dentists not taking


sufficient breaks A SURVEY of dentists found that less than 40 per cent take a lunchbreak and over 60 per cent take no small breaks at all. Income protection insurance provider Dentists’ Provident


undertook an online survey earlier this year which also found that 60 per cent of respondents did not exercise. The survey revealed that 70 per cent of the dentists drank only half a litre of water a day or less, and over 50 per cent said they didn’t drink anything else during the day. Dentists’ Provident advises that dentists should take a


short break every hour to ensure that mind and body can rest and recover. “Doing this as a matter of routine could help to prevent a variety of health conditions.”


New sepsis toolkit


launched by RCGP A NEW sepsis toolkit to support GPs and healthcare professionals to identify and manage the condition in patients has been launched by The Royal College of General Practitioners. The toolkit (tinyurl.com/hgsbb53) has been


developed in partnership with Health Education England and NHS England and provides educational materials, up-to-date guidance and training resources. It also incorporates information for patients, carers and parents, including an adult and child sepsis ‘symptom checker’ illustrating signs and symptoms to look out for. RCGP’s Clinical Lead for sepsis Dr Simon Stockley, who


developed the toolkit, commented: “Sepsis is responsible for 37,000 deaths a year in England alone. Recognising sepsis at an early stage among the huge number of ordinary infections can be a challenge even to experienced clinicians.”


New NICE guidance


on multimorbidity NICE has issued a new guideline setting out ways to tailor care for adults with multimorbidity. The new guidance (www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng56) aims


to optimise care for patients with multiple long-term conditions by identifying ways of reducing treatment burdens (such as polypharmacy and multiple appointments) and unplanned or emergency care. It promotes shared decision-making based on asking patients what is important to them individually in terms of treatments, health priorities, lifestyle and goals. The guideline also sets out which people are most likely to benefit from an approach to care that takes account of multimorbidity. The term multimorbidity refers to the presence of two or more long-


term health conditions. A 2012 report by the Department of Health estimated that caring for more people with multiple health conditions, coupled with an ageing population, could require an extra £5 billion in spending by 2018. Many of the conditions common in multimorbidity are covered


in other guidance notes but NICE points out that evidence for recommendations on single health conditions is mostly drawn from people without multimorbidity and fewer prescribed medicines. Professor Mark Baker, director of the centre for guidelines at NICE, said: “Our guideline brings an important perspective to light – that it’s our responsibility as healthcare professionals to deliver person-centred care, not disease-focused treatment.”


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