Addressing underperformance in the United Kingdom NHS dental system and its possible implications for other care...

To outline the rationale for, background to and role of the National Clinical Assessment Service (NCAS) in helping improve the quality of care provided through the NHS dental care system and identify possible lessons for international dental care delivery systems.

Due to shortcomings in the provision of healthcare and changes in societal attitudes towards healthcare professionals new arrangements for ensuring the quality of care are evolving. The performance of individual practitioners is increasingly being challenged as new regulatory mechanisms for the delivery of care evolve. Historically, regulatory bodies have had few options to handle poor performance and this will need to change: one such approach is the development of an agency to help identify the rationale for poor performance and, most importantly, develop solutions to address them.

The creation of NCAS has provided a mechanism through which shortcomings in dental practitioners' performance can be addressed in a systematic and more appropriate manner than has previously existed. The approach used has applicability for helping improve the quality of care within all oral health care systems.