Urgent care scheme revised and reopened

NHS England has revised and reopened applications to its urgent care scheme, following feedback from the British Dental Association (BDA).

As a result of the revision, participating practices can deliver more than 125% and continue to get further enhanced payments.

And there is now not a cap on how many additional payments can be received.

Participating practices will receive an extra £50 per urgent course of treatment in addition to the normal 1.2 Units of Dental Activity (UDAs), if they deliver 125% above their baseline urgent care delivery.

The removal of the cap is an improvement in the design of this scheme and will allow practices with the capacity to go further, rather than being arbitrarily capped at a time when government wants practices to deliver as much urgent care as possible

Those achieving between 117.5%-125% will receive an extra £25 per urgent course of treatment delivered above the baseline.

These payments are made in addition to contract values, so there is an opportunity to earn additional money.

However, participating practices who are only able to deliver between 100%-117.5% of their baseline will only receive the normal 1.2 UDAs.

Applications for the scheme have now been reopened and practices have until 19 December 2025 to sign up

Paying associates under the scheme

The BDA made representations to NHS England about how to ensure that payments are passed onto associates fairly and have produced advice and guidance on Urgent Dental Care Incentive Scheme payments for practice owners and associates.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) will be publishing a list of participating practices so associates will know if their practice has signed up and can engage in conversations about appropriate payment arrangements.

The guidance from NHS England for participating practices asks them to inform their associates and dental teams that they are involved.

And payments received under the scheme will be published in the NHSBSA’s publication NHS Payments to Dentists next autumn, so associates can see what money the practice has received.

We continue to have concerns about the design of this scheme and have made crystal clear that sessional payments are the most-effective way to deliver urgent care

This will help them to assess whether they have been paid fairly.

General Dental Practice Committee chair, Shiv Pabary, said: “The removal of the cap is an improvement in the design of this scheme and will allow practices with the capacity to go further, rather than being arbitrarily capped at a time when government wants practices to deliver as much urgent care as possible.

“We continue to have concerns about the design of this scheme and have made crystal clear that sessional payments are the most-effective way to deliver urgent care.

“The sessional model has a track record of local success.

“I’m pleased NHS England has recognised the challenges to paying associates under this scheme and has offered some practical help in ensuring there are fair and transparent payment arrangements in place.”