Richard Graham elected Chair of NI Dental Practice Committee
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- Published: Tuesday, 23 January 2018 08:06
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Richard Graham has been elected Chair of the Northern Ireland Dental Practice Committee. Susan Nelson and Derek Manson have also been elected to serve as the Committee’s vice chairs. Accepting the position, Richard Graham said: “I look forward to representing and promoting the interests of all dentists working in General Practice in Northern Ireland over the coming years.”
Richard is a GDP and has worked in general dental practice for over 30 years. A long standing member of NI DPC, he has extensive experience representing the profession. He has been NI DPC vice chair for six years, BDA NI Council vice chair and was BDA NI Branch President in 2010.Accepting the position, Richard Graham said: “I am honoured and privileged to be elected chair of the NI Dental Practice Committee. This is a pivotal time for dentistry and the challenges facing dentists have never been greater. As a Committee, we will continue to argue for government to recognise the rising costs and complexity involved in providing safe, quality dental care. The ongoing pay restraint which has seen all general dental practitioners’ incomes fall by over a quarter since 2008 is unsustainable. The disproportionate rise in expenses cannot continue to go unrecognised. This inevitably affects dentists’ ability to care for the nation’s oral health, at a time when demand for dentistry is high. It’s time for real investment in oral health.
“NI DPC remains committed to a new contract for general dental services and we await the findings of an evaluation of the pilots which will inform future negotiations. We will work constructively with the Department to ensure that the development and introduction of a new dental contract is tailored to the needs of patients, practices and dental staff in Northern Ireland.”
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