ADDITIONAL UDA ACTIVITY IN WESSEX FOR 2017/18 & 2018/19
Following on from the conditional opportunity to over-perform in 2016/17, we are now in a position to be able to advise on arrangements for 2017/18. Over-performance will be offered in two lots. The availability of additional activity is dependent on activity currently tied into contracts that are not performing up to the required level. This is why we are unable to offer activity on a more permanent basis for now. However, we are very pleased to report that the belated offer last November of additional activity is likely to have generated circa £2m worth of additional activity. We are currently collating information regarding the number of new patients / existing patients that may have accessed prompter treatment as a result.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
LOT 1 – For those contractors who achieved 96% or more in 2015/16 and took up the opportunity to achieve more than 102% in 2016/17, we can confirm that the same level of over-performance as achieved in 2016/17 will be guaranteed in 2017/18 and 2018/19. This is conditional to contractors having no quality, performance or contractual concerns raised during the financial year, along with having an NHS mail account in place and updating NHS choices to show new patients are being accepted.
For example, if you achieved an extra 17% in 2016/17, you can continue to work toward delivering that extra 17% again in 2017/18 and 2018/19.
LOT 2 – For contractors within LOT 1, who may wish to increase their levels of activity further, and those contractors who did not achieve 96% or more in 2015/16 and therefore could not apply for additional activity in 2016/17, we are offering the opportunity to apply for additional activity in 2017/18. The following criteria would need to be met in order for you to be able to over-perform in 2017/18:
- Achievement in 2016/17 must be 96% or over.
- NHS Choices must be kept up to date, to ensure that new patients are able to access services. When applying, please provide evidence that your NHS Choices account is showing that you are able to take on new NHS patients.
- NHS Mail accounts in place – Please provide details of your NHS Mail accounts – both personal for staff members, and generic for the practice. This is the account to which all future contractual correspondence will be sent, so you need to be using it regularly.
- Performance and quality indicators – Any breach notice issued in the last 3 years, any red flag on the latest Dental Assurance Framework monitoring report which NHS England – South (Wessex) considers to be a concern, or any current investigations into quality, performance or contractual concerns for your contract, may disqualify you from this offer.
NEXT STEPS
Contractors in LOT 1 who wish to continue delivering additional activity can already factor this into their current work plan, ensuring that the additional activity is achieved equally throughout the whole year, using their predicted achievement as at end of March 2017, as their 2017/18 baseline. Please note that, since there has been no contract variation, the original contract baseline still applies in terms of calculating year-end achievement, i.e. no contractor is contractually tied to delivering the same percentage as achieved in 2016/17. We would however welcome advance notice of any variation to the agreed numbers of UDAs in order to be able to redeploy this activity elsewhere if possible.
Contractors in LOT 2 should confirm by Monday 15 May 2017 to [email protected] using ADDITIONAL UDAs as a title:
– That they meet all the minimum requirements detailed above, and
– What percentage additional activity they may be able to deliver.
Once we have confirmed 2016/17 year-end position and have a more precise idea of how much funding may be available in 2017/18, we will advise contractors of the additional activity they can aim for. This is likely to be end of June/early July. However, contractors can start planning for over-delivery in 2017/18 as additional UDAs will be available.
