The policy team, working with the Dean and Incoming Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery Prof. Fraser McDonald and Prof. Phil Taylor, have been raising grave concerns over the cost and availability of PPE for dental practitioners looking to reopen safely. They have written to the Chief Dental Officer for England as well as to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock, the Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee Jeremy Hunt MP and the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Health Dr Lisa Cameron MP regarding this.
Jeremy Hunt has acknowledged receipt of that letter and incorporated it into the evidence base for the Select Committee's current investigation into the handling of the pandemic response. Dr Lisa Cameron has also acknowledged the letter and its concerns and has written her own letter to the Secretary of State asking for his reassurances on the points we raised. Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, a friend of the College, has also submitted a number of Written Questions in Parliament on the points we raised and we await the government's response.
The Health & Social Care Committee are conducting an inquiry into the planning and delivery of “other essential NHS and care services” during the pandemic and beyond. Aimed at giving those working in the NHS an opportunity to set out what help they will need from Government in meeting the range of challenges faced, it will consider both the current situation as well as looking forward at the next six months.
The inquiry will cover the following areas / questions:
- How to achieve an appropriate balance between coronavirus and ‘ordinary’ health and care demand
- Meeting the wave of pent-up demand for health and care services that have been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak
- Meeting extra demand for mental health services as a result of the societal and economic impacts of lockdown
- Meeting the needs of rapidly discharged hospital patients with a higher level of complexity
- Providing healthcare to vulnerable groups who are shielding
- Supporting mass testing and vaccination once they become available.
- How to ensure that positive changes that have taken place in health and social care as a result of the pandemic are not lost as services normalise.
The Health & Social Care Committee are conducting an inquiry into the planning and delivery of “other essential NHS and care services” during the pandemic and beyond. Aimed at giving those working in the NHS an opportunity to set out what help they will need from Government in meeting the range of challenges faced, it will consider both the current situation as well as looking forward at the next six months.
The inquiry will cover the following areas / questions:
- How to achieve an appropriate balance between coronavirus and ‘ordinary’ health and care demand
- Meeting the wave of pent-up demand for health and care services that have been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak
- Meeting extra demand for mental health services as a result of the societal and economic impacts of lockdown
- Meeting the needs of rapidly discharged hospital patients with a higher level of complexity
- Providing healthcare to vulnerable groups who are shielding
- Supporting mass testing and vaccination once they become available.
- How to ensure that positive changes that have taken place in health and social care as a result of the pandemic are not lost as services normalise.
More information can be found here.
During the pandemic, we have been actively lobbying the government on a range of issues such as better support for overseas doctors and availability of PPE. We have also been seeking views on workplace testing and cancer surgery, and an overview of our work can be found here. However, this inquiry provides a further opportunity for the College to raise its profile, directly help influence NHS policy and build on some tentative links with the Committee chair, Jeremy Hunt MP.
If you would like to help shape the College’s response to this inquiry, please email the policy team at mailto:birmingham@rcsed.ac.uk with thoughts and comments no later than Friday 3 July.