Information for PCTs

Developing a New NHS Dental Practice

IDH has significant organisational resources at its disposal, which enables it to develop and manage first class NHS Dental Services.

Property & Facilities

With dedicated property and facilities functions IDH has the internal estates expertise and knowledge to be able to acquire, build and equip high quality NHS dental practices.

The organisation has established excellent relationships with a range of reputable building, facilities and equipment sub-contractors, which means IDH is best placed to develop entirely new service provision in the desired location, within optimal timescales.

Human Resources

Supported by dedicated Dental Recruitment and Human Resources Teams, IDH is able to effectively staff new practices with dentists, nurses, receptionists and practice managers, and increasingly, other allied Dental Care Professionals (DCPs) such as Hygienists and Therapists.

IDH has a stream of UK and EU dentists waiting to join the organisation, and can recruit qualified and experienced dentists in as little as 12 weeks in some instances. Typically, IDH can recruit and induct its dentists within 16-20 weeks.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

IDH has invested in a range of sophisticated Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) enabling every practice's clinical, support and operational management teams to monitor the delivery of services in 'real-time'.

In cooperation with the organisation's software supplier, Kodak, every practice has the R4 Practice Management System installed, which provides tailored and immediate activity reports. Specifically, these systems measure output in the prevailing NHS currencies – Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) and Units of Orthodontic Activity (UOAs) – which report on General and Orthodontic activity.

More recent developments have included Text Message Appointment Reminders and alerts, which have proven to be incredibly useful in the management of patients, and the reduction of lost clinical time – due to patients Failure to Attend (FTAs) appointments.

Practice-level information systems can also be tailored to capture other activities too, such as the provision of additional and specialist services – which are discussed in the next section.

Demand and Waiting List Management

For PCTs and LHBs with pre-existing waiting lists of people awaiting access to a dentist, IDH can take this list and actively manage the initial contact, booking of appointments and sending of appointment reminders, via its Central Booking Service.

This can alleviate some of the administrative burdens placed upon Primary Care Organisations in effectively and efficiently managing demand, avoiding the occurrence of queues and prolonged waiting times.