The GDC has issued a newsletter containing details of their advice to ‘check the small print of your indemnity and make sure you're covered’. It points out that ‘all dental professionals must, by law, have an indemnity arrangement or insurance policy in place. This is so that any patient who suffers harm can recover any money they might be entitled to through compensation, in the event of a successful claim’
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Following the case of Clinical Dental Technician Paul Robert Cullen, who received an Interim Suspension of 6 months from the GDC in June, the Council has issued a warning registrants to ‘read the small print’ within their indemnity policies and decide whether they are appropriately covered. The BDA is also advising its members to look carefully at wider areas of exclusion or the conditions of cover.
The Government is pledging an extra £21 million for cyber security across the NHS in the wake of the WannaCry ransomware attack. Ministers have said NHS Digital will broadcast alerts about cyber threats to hospitals, provide a hotline for dealing with incidents and also carry out on-site assessments to check security.
Read more: Extra £21m pledged to boost cyber security across NHS
The General Dental Council (GDC) has published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2016. Ian Brack, Chief Executive of the GDC, said: “Looking back, 2016 saw the GDC continue to improve its performance.” William Moyes, Chair of the GDC Council, said: “We improved significantly over the past few years.” Read the GDC Annual Report and Accounts for 2016 here. [This annual report is offline for editing in the week commencing 17th July 2017].
Dr Sarah Wollaston MP has been re-elected to chair the House of Commons Health Select Committee, having been first elected in June 2014. Before her election she asked a question about NHS funding. Shadow health minister Jon Ashworth asked two questions on dentistry and in the upper house Lord Wigley raised the issue of the increasing cost of medical indemnity, albeit for doctors.
The GP magazine Pulse reports that GPs in England are being balloted on whether they would be willing to take industrial action by collectively closing their patient lists. In a letter to GPs, acting GPC chair Dr Richard Vautrey urged GPs to take part in the ballot which will close Thursday 10 August.