NHS England has appointed Janet Clarke and Eric Rooney as Deputy Chief Dental Officers. They will both work part time reporting to Sara Hurley, Chief Dental Officer. As senior members of the Medical Directorate, they will work with others including regional and local area teams to improve outcomes for patients, and support the role of dentists and dentistry across the health system.
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A report, from Public Health England (PHE), originally shelved by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, said it "would seem logical" that a "sugar tax" of 10% to 20% would lead to a reduction in consumption, though it stressed some of the evidence on the issue was limited. However a spokesman for prime minister, David Cameron said that, although he had not read the report, he was not in favour of a tax, believing there were other measures to drive down childhood obesity.
Eddie Crouch, the BDA's Vice Chair and Chair of its Review Body Evidence Committee, told the DDRB: “The rhetoric and the reality on dentists' pay couldn't be any further apart. As a profession we are not looking at 'minimal' rises or even pay 'freezes'. Any talk of 'pay restraint' for dentists is simply a euphemism for deep and sustained pay cuts. All the official evidence tells precisely the same story. We are not 'all in this together', and our profession should not be expected to take a disproportionate hit to bail out a cash strapped NHS.”
Read more: Eddie Crouch tells DDRB pay restraint means pay cuts
Europe's statistical agency Eurostat has reported that by most indicators of oral health, Greece is one of the unhealthiest places in Europe. The number of Greeks 16 years or older reporting unmet dental care needs was 10.6% in 2013. That compares to a European Union average of 7.9%. More than 8% of Greeks skipped dentist visits in 2013 because it was too expensive, well above the 5.1% European average, according to Eurostat.
Healthcare comparison site,WhatClinic.com, has announced its acquisition of UK dental booking site Toothpick.com. The move will introduce the simplistic booking of Toothpick’s software to more than 11,000 UK dental clinics listed on WhatClinic.com – which has been dubbed the ‘Tripadvisor of private healthcare’. This acquisition will fast-track the site’s move towards real-time booking for its million plus monthly users.
At a recent meeting of the General Dental Council (GDC), the Council made no decision to change their policy of insisting that GDC website must publish the full home or practice address of all registrants. A working group was formed to look into this matter again. The lay members of the Council rejected safety arguments from their own executive, from a personal safety campaign and a major petition against such disclosure. This decision means the GDC falls outside the norm of other comparable regulators in the UK in this matter.
Read more: GDC: Lay Council ignores safety advice over registrants' addresses