Update to nhs patients

As of April 2026, the way we are able to deliver NHS dentistry is changing. The government have put more focus on urgent care and have set a mandatory target that must be met by the end of the financial year. We as a practice are not receiving any extra funding to support us through this, but it will mean that we will run out of funding for our NHS contract earlier than planned if we carry on practicing as we have done before.

This means that from April 2026 we will be looking at every NHS patient recall and using NICE guidelines to determine the correct recall time for each patient. The guidance can be found here for your reference https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg19

We will likely be increasing recall periods and I understand that this can be frustrating for patients as most like to come back every 6 months as they always have done. But this system won’t work under the new contract, especially at Calm where our contract is relatively small compared to other practices. If you are deemed to be low or moderate risk we will inform you of the need to increase the time between your dental check ups. We must work together to adhere to these changes and we will be unable to consider any shorter recalls unless these are justified clinically.

I would also like to note that this doesn’t change your access to the practice in case of a dental emergency. If you have a problem please call and we can make you an urgent appointment as soon as possible. Please understand that this will not be a check up and we will only be able to deal with your problem at the time. For any routine work we need to conduct a clinical examination beforehand, and this is charged separately, as per the NHS contract. For example, if you attend for an emergency appointment outside of your check up, this will be a separate charge that is usually paid on the day of your urgent appointment. If you then return and require more definitive treatment to address the same problem, this is charged separately, even if it is for the same issue.

I understand that this will be frustrating for some patients and the change will not be welcomed, but for Calm to continue to deliver NHS dentistry this is a necessity and I hope we can work together to manage this change together.