GDC’s Strategic Plan Comes With ‘Expected’ 7% Rise In ARF For Dentists
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- Published: Monday, 11 July 2022 07:25
- Written by Chris Tapper
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The General Dental Council has opened a consultation on its three-year strategic plan with the news that the regulator expects the Annual Retention Fee for dentists and dental care professionals to rise.
The GDC said on its website that it was opening its consultation on the three-year plan “amidst great uncertainty in dentistry.”
GDC Executive Director, Stefan Czerniawski wrote “After the shock of the pandemic and in a rapidly changing environment, we have taken this opportunity to review our aims and objectives and to make sure that our strategic direction remains the right one for the next three years.”
“Our priority is to continue focusing on ensuring dental professionals on our registers reach and maintain the highest standards, but to be ready to intervene where those standards are not met.”
Mr Czerniawski said “This is a consultation on our strategic plans and what it will cost to deliver them. That does have an impact on the Annual Retention Fee which we expect will increase from the levels set in 2019 to around £730 (+7%) for dentists and around £120 (+5%) for dental care professionals.”
The Executive Director added “Like everyone, our costs have increased due to inflation and the expected 2023 fee levels reflect this. Inflation is forecast to continue for some time, and we will do all we can to keep our own costs down, but we may need to revisit the fee in subsequent years if inflation remains high.”
“We commit to limiting any further increases to the rate of inflation unless other exceptional circumstances arise.”
The GDC says its proposed strategy will focus on both preventing patient harm and being proportionate when handling concerns presented to it.
The GDC says its ambition is to “Shift the balance from enforcement to prevention.”
The regulator also says that its new strategy includes plans to “Embed new principles of professionalism.”
The GDC website said the new principles would give “Professionals the space to exercise their judgement, and to focus our investigations on issues that provoke concerns for public safety or confidence.”
The regulator says that it will continue to press the Government for regulatory reform. The GDC said “The quality of the regulation we provide is closely linked to the quality of legislation we work under. Our legislation has not been fundamentally updated for four decades, and its weakness is becoming increasingly apparent while the timetable for reform becomes less certain.”
The GDC says it will be ready to respond should reform arrive in the next three years, adding it will meanwhile continue to focus on its core functions, “Making improvements wherever we can, should reform not materialise.”
The GDC says “Our plan is to focus on delivery of our core functions while making system improvements where we can, because we recognise that the timetable for reform is far from clear or certain.”
The regulator is inviting views on its strategic plan for the next three years.
The GDC says its priority is to “keep building effective prevention strategies and operating a proportionate system for resolving concerns to further our ambition to shift the balance from enforcement to prevention.”
The GDC stated that its regulatory framework hasn’t been ‘fundamentally updated’ for four decades.
The regulator said “Changes to the system for international registration will be prioritised when the legislation has been agreed but even then, the changes will take time to implement.”
The GDC says its plans will include considering the relevant consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and will support those whose training and education had been disrupted.
It will also increase capacity for investigations and adapting regulation to address emerging public safety or confidence concerns.
The GDC appears to recognise that as a consequence of the pandemic, stating “Concerns about the potential for disruption in dental services to lead to an increase in the number of complaints and concerns over matters those dental professionals cannot control, such as the availability of appointments.”
The GDC says its strategy is “Strengthened by scrutiny from all those with an interest in ensuring that dentistry across the four nations of the UK continues to be delivered to a high standard and that patients can be confident in the quality of care they receive and in the professionalism of those who provide it.”
“This consultation provides an opportunity to help shape GDC’s strategy for the next three years and we welcome and encourage responses to it.”
The online consultation form can be accessed here.
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