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Download the UDA Value Checker

 

Why use our UDA value checker

Getting to grips with the financial details of the NHS dental contract in England can be a challenging task, even for those who have been working with Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) since they were introduced in the 2006 dental contract. With all the relevant information to hand, you can make the best business and personal decisions for your situation.

That is why we have analysed data from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) to provide an estimated UDA value for all NHS contracts in England. It means that you can compare your practice or the practice where you work to the local and national averages.

Please note that the checker is only available to our members - please sign in or join us to be able to download it.

For associates, the UDA value checker

  • Gives you access to important information about the practice where you work or are considering working
  • Provides you with information to approach practice owners to negotiate your personal UDA value
  • Enables you to better understand the NHS financial environment in which your practice owner operates.

For practice owners, the UDA value checker

  • Gives you access to important information about your contract and other contracts in your area for easy comparison

  • Provides information to help you approach commissioners on issues around contract delivery clawback and UDA value

  • Enables your associates to understand the NHS financial environment in which the practice operates.

About our estimations

We have estimated UDA values by dividing the contract’s value by its contracted UDAs. It is important to remember that while we have taken a number of steps in analysing the data to attempt to ensure that this is as accurate as possible, it is possible that some of the contracts included contain payments not based on UDAs. That is, in part, why the UDA value can only be an estimate.

Please also note that the UDA value tracker does not give the full picture about practice finances, as this information is only based on the NHS payments to practices. It does not show the many financial pressures on each practice and the costs involved in delivering dentistry, which will vary from practice to practice.

FAQs

  • The checker is only available to our members, so you need to sign in first.
  • There are some complex macros and formulas within the checker that security software may block, if you experience difficulties downloading or viewing it please email digital@bda.org.

This data is published by the NHSBSA annually. We have undertaken to present it in a more user-friendly way, so that members can access important information about their contract and practice.

The NHSBSA data used in this checker covers the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. If your contract was inactive during this period, or did not receive any NHS payments, then it will not feature amongst the list of contracts.

In addition, the checker was developed to help members better understand their contract by comparing it with similar contracts in their area team, hence the checker focuses on active GDS contracts that were comparable with each other.

This means we excluded PDS contracts, contracts with less than one UDA and contracts with a negative contract value. Also, we focused on contracts with UDAs so removed those which also included Units of Orthodontic Activity (UOAs). Finally, we removed extreme UDA values falling outside the £15 to £45 range.

Go to the "Estimated UDA value by contract" tab and try searching for the practice's postcode or for the name of the practice.

To do so in Windows:

  • Go to the "Estimated UDA value by contract" tab
  • Click on any cell
  • On your keyboard, first press CTRL+A simultaneously, then press CTRL+F and type the details you want to search for, e.g. Smile Dental Practice
  • Click on "Find Next" until you have browsed all the possibilities or found the practice you were looking for.

This data is published by the NHSBSA. Guidance from the NHSBSA says that “it is in the public interest to understand the amounts that NHS dental contractors receive to operate and how these vary between contracts and across the country. The statistics are extracted from NHSBSA Compass as part of its operational process and is a secondary use of the data. There is, therefore, no additional burden on NHS organisations or dental contractors to complete and return this data themselves.”

Further questions?

If you have any further questions about this checker, please email our Policy team.

For queries about your contract or the data used, you should contact your usual payments contact for queries in the first instance.

Exceptionally where queries remain unresolved, please email the NHSBSA helpdesk or phone them on 0300 330 1348