1. Introduction
There have been longstanding concerns about the lack of data available at a national level to understand the dental primary care workforce. Therefore, a new biannual dental workforce collection was introduced in October 2023 to be completed by all General Dental Services (GDS) Personal Dental Services (PDS) contractors on a six-monthly basis.
We would like to thank all those contractors who completed a return in October 2023 and for the feedback they gave. As a result of this feedback, the data collection form has been updated ahead of the April 2024 collection window.
This document describes these changes and offers further advice as to how to complete the data collection form.
2. Completion of the workforce collection
Completion of the form is mandatory for all current GDS contracts and PDS agreements in England.
The workforce collection must be completed at contract level by the Contractor / business owner or by someone nominated on their behalf. Please note that all fields require an entry, even if that is to enter a zero. The only exception is the Free Text Box, which is provided for contractors to provide information on issues that may have affected the data submitted during the reporting period. Please do not include any personal and potentially identifiable information within any fields.
The data submitted should provide a summary for each staff group. Data at an individual staff level is not required.
Data is to be provided twice each year. We will write to all contractors before the collection opens detailing the time period for completion and when the submission window opens and closes.
Where a contractor or practice has multiple contracts which are delivered by all the same staff, please respond using a single data collection form and enter the contract numbers for any additional contracts that relate to the same staff in the Free Text Box field. Any contract number in the Free Text Box field will be covered by this single response.
3. Data relating the practice
3.1 Dental chairs
The contractor will be responsible for providing the total number of all dental chairs at the practice.
Please estimate the percentage of time that dental chairs in the practice are usually used for NHS services, to the best of your knowledge. Where an NHS patient opted for a private treatment during the same appointment visit then this can be included as NHS time. If the patient opted for private treatment and this was undertaken during a separate appointment visit, then this would be included as private time. This approach should be taken irrespective of the staff group using the chair.
Where chairs are not used in the delivery of NHS work these should be included and their non-NHS utilisation reflected in the percentage of NHS use. For example, if there are three chairs, one of which is purely for non-NHS use, and the NHS utilisation of the two other chairs was 50%, then the overall NHS chair time used would be calculated to be one chair out of the three, 33%.
The data submitted should reflect the number of dental chairs at the practice during a typical, full working week (one that doesn’t include a bank holiday) for the period the return covers. To estimate chair usage in a typical, full working week (one that doesn’t include a bank holiday) we would like contractors to use the following methodology to calculate the NHS and private chair usage and return the percentage of NHS use as 100*[total hours NHS chair use]/[total hours chair usage both NHS and private]
We appreciate contractor’s efforts in aiming to make these estimates as accurate as reasonably possible to minimise the impact on data quality issues but understand that any method of estimation will be subject to a small level of uncertainty.
3.2 Opening hours
The opening hours are the number of hours the practice is open each day.
NHS hours should reflect the number of contracted hours the practice is available for NHS services each day.
Both opening hours and NHS opening hours should be for the last full working week (one that doesn’t include a bank holiday) at the end of the period the collection covers. The April entry should therefore reflect opening hours for the last typical full working prior to 31 March. The October entry should reflect opening hours for the last typical full working prior to 30 September.
If the return is for multiple practices, or if opening hours vary on a weekly basis, the opening hours should reflect the longest opening hours for each day.
4. Data relating Staff
4.1 Total headcount
The term “headcount” relates to distinct individuals for each staff group and covers all members of staff and should include staff members who do not deliver NHS activity.
Please provide the total number of distinct individuals for each staff group. For the purposes of the workforce collection any specialist dentists or dentists with special interests should be recorded under the staff group general dentists.
An option is available to include other staff not included on the return, this should be used to record any other staff, for example practice managers, and technicians/clinical technicians, that the contractor wishes to include to reflect, as accurately as possible, how they utilise staff to operate their services.
The data submitted should reflect the total headcount for each staff group at the end of the reporting period. The April entry should reflect data as of 31 March and the October entry should reflect data as of 30 September. If either of those days are someone’s last day of employment, please still include them.
Where a distinct individual works across multiple staff groups, for example nurse and reception duties, the headcount should be counted once under their main staff group’s heading.
Please include all staff, including those on short term leave (less than 1 month) at the end of the reporting period and treat staff as if they were working.
Please exclude staff who have been absent for longer than 1 month at the end of the reporting period. These staff will be recorded separately under section 4.10 Total headcount of staff absent for longer than 1 month.
4.2 Total sum of hours for all staff in a typical, full working week (one that doesn’t include leave or a bank holiday)
We require practices to provide the total sum of hours (contracted and/or worked) for all staff in a typical, full working week (one that doesn’t include leave or a bank holiday. We expect that these may vary week to week so provide guidance on how to make these estimates here. We would like contractors to use the following methodology.
Contractors should use the last full working week (one that doesn’t include leave or a bank holiday) for each member of staff to calculate total hours the staff member has worked and their NHS hours. This would be the last typical, full working week (one that doesn’t include leave or a bank holiday) in the time period where the individual staff member has not been absent. These individual calculations should then be added together to give a total for each staff group.
Please use staff contracted hours to calculate this where available. If Associates or other members of staff do not have contracted hours, then please estimate the working hours in a typical, full working week (one that doesn’t include leave or a bank holiday) at the end of the reporting period.
Please note during the October collection analysis indicated some contractors only provided the average contracted hours for staff; please provide the total hours worked for all staff within each staff group added together.
A staff member who does not deliver NHS activity should still be included when calculating Total Contract Hours.
Please include all staff, including those on short term leave (less than 1 month) at the end of the reporting period and treat staff as if they were working.
Please note where a distinct individual works across multiple staff groups, for example nurse and reception duties, we no longer require that contractors try to split this activity. These hours should be reported once under their main staff group’s heading. For example, if there are 5 staff recorded as General Dentists this would be the total hours they worked added together during a typical, full working week (one that doesn’t include leave or a bank holiday) at the end of the reporting period the return covers.
We appreciate contractor’s efforts in aiming to make these estimates as accurate as reasonably possible to minimise the impact on data quality issues but understand that any method of estimation will be subject to a small level of uncertainty.
4.3 Estimated total sum of NHS hours for staff delivering NHS services in a typical, full working week (one that doesn’t include leave or a bank holiday)
This request for information is linked to the previous question (4.2) to help us a better understanding the working patterns of the dental workforce to deliver NHS services.
Please estimate and add together the total sum of hours delivering NHS services only for all staff, within each staff group during a typical, full working week (one that doesn’t include leave or a bank holiday) at the end of the reporting period the return covers.
Please include all staff, including those on short term leave (less than 1 month) at the end of the reporting period and treat staff as if they were working.
4.4 Full Time Equivalent of all vacant posts
Full Time Equivalent (FTE) is a standardised measure of the workload of an employed or self-employed person.
Please provide the total FTE of all vacant posts for each staff group added up at the end of the reporting period the return covers.
A vacant full-time post (for example 37.5 hours) would be considered 1 FTE. A vacant post for half the time of 1 FTE (for example 18.75 hours) would be 0.5 FTE. For example, if a typical, full working week (one that doesn’t include leave or a bank holiday) is 5 days, each day would count as 0.2 FTE. For the purposes of this collection, we do not expect contractors to convert their definition of a full-time working week to match the NHS England definition of 37.5 hours. Instead, please simply use your definition. However, please write in the Free Text Box if your definition of a whole contracted working week does not fall within 35 to 40 hours.
Please Note – this is a change to the April 2023 and October 2023 collections, which asked for the headcount number of vacant posts.
Contractors should not count staff on short term leave, less than 1 month, (i.e. short periods of sick leave or holiday) as vacancies.
4.5 Full Time Equivalent NHS component of vacant posts
This request for information is linked to the previous question and will help us better understand the impact vacant posts has on the NHS FTE component.
Please provide the estimated NHS FTE component of vacant posts for each staff group added up at the end of the reporting period the return covers i.e. what proportion of time you expect the vacant posts to carry out NHS work.
For example if a vacant post is for a full time General Dentist and half their work is NHS this would be 0.5 FTE.
Please Note – this is a change to the April 2023 and October 2023 collections, which asked for the number of vacant posts.
Please also provide an estimate of the number of calendar days that a post with an NHS FTE component has been vacant as at 31 March 2024 for each staff group. If there is more than one vacant post with an NHS FTE component for a staff group please add up the number of days for both vacancies.
Contractors should not count staff on short term leave, less than 1 month, (i.e. short periods of sick leave or holiday) as vacancies.
4.6 Number of NHS posts that have been vacant for 3 or more months
Please provide the number of NHS posts which have been vacant for 3 or more months for each staff group at the end of the reporting period the return covers. Please also include posts you have ceased to recruit to during the 6 month period due to lack of response.
4.7 Total headcount of leavers during the 6 months
Please provide the total number of all leavers, for each staff group, over the previous 6 months.
Please do not include any staff who are on any long term absence that you expect to return. These staff should be recorded under the question Total headcount of staff absent for longer than 1 month.
Please note where a distinct individual worked across multiple staff groups (for example nurse / receptionist) they should be counted as a leaver once under their main staff group’s heading.
The data submitted should reflect the total number of leavers over the 6 month period the return covers.
The April entry should reflect the total number of leavers between 1 October and 31 March. The October entry should reflect data the total number of leavers between 1 April and 30 September.
4.8 Total headcount of joiners during the 6 months
Please provide the total number of all joiners, for each staff group, over the previous 6 months.
Please do not include any staff returning form a long term absence.
The data submitted should reflect the total number of joiners over the 6 month period the return covers.
Please note where a distinct individual works across multiple staff groups (for example nurse / receptionist) they should be counted as a joiner once under their main staff group’s heading.
The April entry should reflect the total number of joiners between 1 October and 31 March. The October entry should reflect data the total number of joiners between 1 April and 30 September.
4.9 Total headcount of staff absent for any reason longer than 1 month
For each staff group, please provide the total headcount of any individuals who have been absent for longer than a calendar month for any reason at the end of the reporting period the return covers.
The April entry should reflect data as of 31 March and the October entry should reflect data as of 30 September.
To avoid double counting of staff, please only include staff absent for longer than 1 month that you have not included under section 4.1 Total Headcount.
Where a distinct individual that is absent for any reason longer than 1 month works across multiple staff groups, for example nurse and reception duties, the headcount should be counted once under their main staff group’s heading.
Please note we do not require the reasons for absence, and you should not include any personal and potentially identifiable information if using the free text box.
5. Appendix – example of workforce collection
An example of a completed biannual workforce collection is below.
In this example there is a total headcount of 4 general dentists currently working a total sum of 90 hours in a typical, full working week (one that doesn’t include leave or a bank holiday) of which 65 hours are delivering NHS services. This includes a general dentist that is on short term leave (less than 1 month) at the end of the reporting period.
There is currently a total of 1 FTE general dentist vacant post (37.5 hours) of which 0.50 FTE is a general dentist NHS vacant post which has vacant for 95 days.
In this example there is one general dentist post vacant post which has been vacant for more than 3 months.
There have been two general dentist leavers over the period of the reporting period and there has been one general dentist joiner.
1 general dentist has been absent for longer than 1 month at the end of the reporting period, this member of staff is only recorded under “Total headcount of staff absent for longer than 1 month”.
A template spreadsheet to support you collate information is available on the NHSBSA website. This data must still be transferred to Compass using the workforce data collection form.
Publication reference: PRN001136