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Press release: NHS Employers agrees proposals to modernise salaried primary care NHS dentists' contract02 Nov 2007 NHS Employers announced today that it has agreed proposals to modernise salaried dentists' contracts with the British Dental Association (BDA). The joint proposals have been put to the Department of Health which has given its authorisation for the BDA to proceed to a ballot of its members, taking place in November. Eric Rooney, NHS Employers' lead negotiator and Consultant in Dental Public Health in Cumbria and Lancashire said: "We are delighted that negotiations have been successful and that we have agreed a new contract for salaried dentists. "Salaried dentists make a vital contribution to NHS dentistry and play a central role in providing both generalist and specialist treatment to vulnerable members of society, who might not otherwise receive NHS dental care. "The changes to pay and career development structures have been designed to bring salaried dentists into line with other clinical staff in NHS, providing a clear and flexible career structure and improving the quality of their working lives." Based on proposals set out in Creating the Future - Modernising Careers for Salaried Dentists in Primary Care, the agreement recommends a new single pay spine underpinned with defined competencies for dentists, senior dentists and managerial dentists. An enhanced career development structure including job planning, objective setting, appraisals and personal development planning aims to enable dentists to identify their training requirements and agree them with their employer. In addition, an indicative training allowance of £750 per dentist is proposed to assist in training and development. The agreement also makes a number of key changes to the current terms and conditions of service, including working hours, annual leave and notice periods. Notes for editors* Further information on the agreement including the Summary Agreement document can be found on the NHS Employers' website at http://www.nhsemployers.org/primary/primary-1071.cfm. The proposals affect NHS staff working in England. Case study. Sarah is a dentist on Band A pay point 4. She has a meeting with her appraiser to complete her annual appraisal and job planning process. Over the past year Sarah has been working to meet the objectives set in her previous job plan following assimilation onto the new pay scale. She has also been collecting evidence in her portfolio of maintaining the competencies of the post. At the meeting Sarah and her appraiser go through the appraisal and job planning documentation. All the objectives are met and she has demonstrated that she is maintaining competency. New objectives are set and the job plan reviewed. Her appraiser recommends that Sarah should now progress to pay point 5 on Band A.
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For out of hours media enquiries, please contact the duty press officer on 07880 500726. Last reviewed 2 Nov 2007 |
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