DENTAL - NHS Business Services Authority

‘In September 2002 three in ten principals and justover half the VDPs were female.’‘Changes in the VDP profile over time provide anindication of the future size and demography ofGDS dentistry as a whole.’VDP age profileFemales100%80%60%40%20%0%1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002SeptemberAge Over 25 25 24 21 to 23The annual figures include all dentists with an open contracton 30 September of that year. Consequently a dentist with aVDP contract in consecutive Septembers will be counted inthe VDP numbers for both years. It is noticeable that whilstthe majority of VDPs are counted in only one year’sstatistics, the number appearing in the figures forconsecutive years is increasing. Whereas none of the VDPscounted in September 1991 had a VDP contract thefollowing September, there were 14 dentists with a VDPcontract in September 2001 who were also under contract asa VDP in September 2002. In total over the periodSeptember 1991 to September 2001 there were 115 differentdentists who held a VDP contract in more than oneconsecutive September, including six who held a VDPcontract in three consecutive Septembers. Of these 115dentists more than half (61 per cent) were female.Dentists with a VDP contract in consecutiveSeptembersVDP age profileMales4035FemaleMale100%80%60%number of VDPs302520151040%20%505 6 7 8 9number of consecutive quarters with a VDP contract0%1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002SeptemberAge Over 25 25 24 21 to 23VDP profileProportion of VDPs qualified in England and Wales98FemaleMaleMovements into and out of the GDSChanges in the VDP profile over time provide an indication ofthe future size and demography of GDS dentistry as awhole. Another significant clue is provided by identified trendsin the movement of dentists into and out of the GDS; thelength of time that dentists spend in the GDS before leaving,and outside the GDS before returning. An examination of thedelay between a dentist terminating a VDP contract andopening a contract as either a principal or as an assistantprovides a first insight.proportion96949290888684821991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002SeptemberThe proportion of male dentists with a VDP contract inSeptember 1991 who had opened a contract as an assistantor as principal by the following September was 87 per cent.With the exceptions of 1993 and 2001 the correspondingproportion has decreased each year; by September 2001 1the proportion had fallen to 74 per cent. The proportions forfemale dentists evidenced a similar downward trend; 83 percent in September 1991 and 63 per cent in September 2001.In general the proportion for male VDPs has been higher thanfor female VDPs throughout the period 1991 to 2001. 2DENTAL12 review2002-2003