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Publication, Part of

Dentists' Working Patterns, Motivation and Morale - 2018/19 and 2019/20

Official statistics

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Annex A – Survey Form (UK)

The Dental Working Patterns Surveys after 2008/09 and 2009/10 were collected online and not via a mailed return, as used in earlier surveys. The questions for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 survey are shown below. Guidance notes are available at https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/areas-of-interest/workforce/dental-working-patterns-survey-2018-19-and-2019-20

 

DENTAL WORKING PATTERNS SURVEY (UK) 2018/19 & 2019/20

This questionnaire relates to your typical time spent in primary care dentistry in two financial years – 2018/19 and 2019/20. There are also questions regarding your dental business arrangements in those years as well as some brief questions on motivation and morale.

It is estimated this survey will take 5 - 10 minutes to complete. 

Please hover over the question mark icon (?) for further information on answering the questions. If you require more detailed country specific guidance please click here. If you have any queries regarding the survey, please contact NHS Digital Contact Centre on 0300 303 5678 (9am-5pm Mon-Fri) or via email at [email protected].

To get started, please enter your GDC number:

 

 

YEAR 2018/2019 – 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019

  1. For how many months during the year 2018/19, including annual leave, did you work as a practising primary care dentist?

 

out of 12 months

 

  1. In a typical working week in the year 2018/19, how many hours did you spend in primary care dentistry, including both clinical and non-clinical work related to NHS/Health Service and private dentistry (non-clinical work can include administrative and management duties)?

 

Hours per week

 

  1. On average, in the year 2018/19, how was your time spent in primary care dentistry split between clinical and non-clinical work?

%

Clinical

%

Non-clinical

(Please ensure the two figures you provide here sum to 100%)

 

  1. On average, in the year 2018/19, how was your time spent in primary care dentistry split between NHS/Health Service and private work?

%

NHS/HS

%

Private

(Please ensure the two figures you provide here sum to 100%)

 

  1. In the year 2018/19, how many weeks of annual leave did you take, excluding bank holidays?

 

Weeks

 

  1. In the table below, please tick the relevant box(es) which represent all your NHS/Health Service working arrangements in 2018/19. Please note it is possible to have more than one type of arrangement within the year or at the same time.

Arrangement

Please tick

Provider & Performer (England & Wales)                                         

Practice Owner/Director/Partner (Scotland & N. Ireland)

 

Performer Only – Incorporated (England & Wales)                          

Associate – Incorporated (Scotland & N. Ireland)

 

Performer only (England 7 Wales)                                                   

Associate (Scotland & N. Ireland)

 

Other                                (Please state:…………………………………)

 

 

Question routing

Q7 only answered by first two arrangement types above, otherwise directed to Q8

  1. For each contract/arrangement of which you were a provider/practice owner/director/partner or where you answered ‘performer only/associate – incorporated’ above, please tick the relevant box(es) below to indicate all your dental business arrangements in 2018/19.

 

Business Arrangement

Please tick

Limited Company

 

Limited Liability Partnership

 

‘True’ Partnership

 

Expense Sharing Group

 

Sole Trader without other dentists working for them

 

Sole Trader with other dentists working for them

 

Other                                (Please state:…………………………………)

 

 

  1. Please indicate (by a tick) how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements in relation to your work in primary care dentistry in 2018/19. Please consider your NHS/Health Service and any private work when answering.

 

Question

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

  1. I felt good about my job as a dentist

 

 

 

 

 

  1. I received recognition for the good work I did*

 

 

 

 

 

  1. I felt my pay was fair**

 

 

 

 

 

  1. I had all the equipment and resources I needed to do my job properly

 

 

 

 

 

  1. My job gave me the chance to do challenging and interesting work

 

 

 

 

 

  1. There were opportunities for me to progress in my career

 

 

 

 

 

* Spoken recognition or acknowledgment (i.e. not financial) from colleagues

** Pre-tax income (after all expenses removed) for primary care dentistry

Question

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

  1. I often thought about leaving general dental practice

 

 

 

 

 

 

Question

Very High

High

Neither

Low

Very Low

  1. How would you rate your morale as a dentist in 2018/19

 

 

 

 

 


YEAR 2019/2020 – 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020

 

  1. For how many months during the year 2019/20, including annual leave, do you expect to work as a practising primary care dentist?

 

out of 12 months

 

  1. In a typical working week in the year 2019/20, how many hours do you expect to spend in primary care dentistry, including both clinical and non-clinical work related to NHS/Health Service and private dentistry (non-clinical work can include administrative and management duties)?

 

Hours per week

 

  1. On average, in the year 2019/20, how do you expect your time spent in primary care dentistry to have been split between clinical and non-clinical work?

%

Clinical

%

Non-clinical

(Please ensure the two figures you provide here sum to 100%)

 

  1. On average, in the year 2019/20, how do you expect your time spent in primary care dentistry to have been split between NHS/Health Service and private work?

%

NHS/HS

%

Private

(Please ensure the two figures you provide here sum to 100%)

 

  1. In the year 2019/20, how many weeks of annual leave do you expect to take, excluding bank holidays?

 

Weeks

 

  1. In the table below, please tick the relevant box(es) which represent all your NHS/Health Service working arrangements in 2019/20. Please note it is possible to have more than one type of arrangement within the year or at the same time.

Arrangement

Please tick

Provider & Performer (England & Wales)

Practice Owner/Director/Partner (Scotland & N. Ireland)

 

Performer Only – Incorporated (England & Wales)

Associate – Incorporated (Scotland & N. Ireland)

 

Performer only (England & Wales)

Associate (Scotland & N. Ireland)

 

Other                                (Please state:…………………………………)

 

 

Question routing

Q15 only answered by first two arrangement types above, otherwise direct to Q16

  1. For each contract/arrangement of which you were a provider/practice owner/director/partner or where you answered ‘performer only/associate – incorporated’ above, please tick the relevant box (es) below to indicate all your dental business arrangements in 2019/20.

 

Business Arrangement

Please tick

Limited Company

 

Limited Liability Partnership

 

‘True’ Partnership

 

Expense Sharing Group

 

Sole Trader without other dentists working for them

 

Sole Trader with other dentists working for them

 

Other                                (Please state:…………………………………)

 

 

  1. Please indicate (by a tick) how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements in relation to your motivation and morale in primary care dentistry in 2019/20. Please consider your NHS/Health Service and any private work when answering.

 

Question

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

  1. I feel good about my job as a dentist

 

 

 

 

 

  1. I receive recognition for the good work I do*

 

 

 

 

 

  1. I feel my pay is fair**

 

 

 

 

 

  1. I have all the equipment and resources I need to do my job properly

 

 

 

 

 

  1. My job gives me the chance to do challenging and interesting work

 

 

 

 

 

  1. There are opportunities for me to progress in my career

 

 

 

 

 

* Spoken recognition or acknowledgment (i.e. not financial) from colleagues

** Pre-tax income (after all expenses removed) for primary care dentistry

Question

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

  1. I often think about leaving general dental practice

 

 

 

 

 

 

Question

Very High

High

Neither

Low

Very Low

  1. How would you rate your morale as a dentist in 2019/20

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Previous surveys have identified a number of issues that may have a detrimental effect on morale. In order to quantify them, please indicate the extent to which each of the following adversely affects your morale (if at all) in primary care dentistry. Please consider your NHS/Health Service and any private work when answering.

 

Issue

Major Effect

Moderate Effect

Minor Effect

No Effect

Not Applicable

  1. Administration and paperwork

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Disparity between treatment complexity and financial return1

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Inadequate levels of remuneration for preventative care

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Increasing expenses and/or declining income2

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Risk of litigation and cost of indemnity fees

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Regulations3

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Recruitment and retention issues4

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Other (Please state)5

 

 

 

 

 

1. Treatment complexity based on technical (and not patient) factors

2. Pre-tax income (after all expenses removed) for primary care dentistry

3. External regulations (including NHS/Health Service, GDC, practice inspection and decontamination)

4. Dental workforce staff (including other dentists, dental nurses, hygienists, technicians)

5. Please state any other issue(s) that have a detrimental effect on your morale in primary care dentistry.

 

  1. We try and contact as many dentists as possible using email but some will inevitably be out-of-date. Please could you provide your most up-to-date email address:

 

Email:

  1. If you have any comments relating to this questionnaire (or answers you have provided) please enter them in the following section:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For any queries please contact NHS Digital on 0300 303 5678 (9am-3pm Mon-Fri) or at [email protected]


Last edited: 15 February 2024 2:01 pm