Moyes: GDC is a listening organisation
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- Published: Tuesday, 23 August 2016 07:41
- Written by News Editor
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GDC chair, Bill Moyes, has claimed that the Council’s recent decision not to include any location details about dental professionals on its online public register shows that it is an organisation which is able to listen to a range of views, and make a proportionate and reasoned decision, which ‘shows its maturity’.
In his recent blog Bill Moyes thanked everyone who made their views known through the GDC’s consultation on registrants’ addresses. He said: “Over 2,500 people responded, with almost three quarters (74%) favouring the removal of all address information from the register. Just over a quarter (26%) were happy for a general location, such as a postal town, to remain”.
He continued: “Looking at the number of responses, this is a subject which many of you clearly felt strongly about. It would have been remiss of the Council to ignore such strong sentiment. The decision we have taken makes us similar to other professional healthcare regulators who choose not to publish address information on their online registers. In making such a decision, there is a fine balance to be struck between protecting the public and treating dental professionals fairly, which in this case arguably encompasses protecting their privacy and safety.”
He also said that the GDC had set out its aims for the next few years in a policy paper called: ‘Patients, Professionals, Partners and Performance. He continued: “Implementation of the new approach will not happen overnight. It is important this is done correctly. This will require Council to approve changes to some of our policies which govern the online register. After this has happened at the next council meeting in October, we will aim to remove all address details from the register before the end of the year”.
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