It has been announced that David Prior has stepped down as Chair of the Care Quality Commission to become a Health Minister in the new Conservative government and will be given a peerage. He succeeds Earl Howe as Minister but his responsibilities have yet to be confirmed.
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The British Dental Association (BDA) has called on returning Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to tackle “unfinished business” on professional regulation. They have written asking him to launch a fundamental review of dental regulation. The Chair of the PEC, Mick Armstrong, said: “Professional regulation cannot get bumped to the bottom of the in-tray for the Health team. The unambiguous and sustained failures at the General Dental Council are unfinished business, and require a clear response.”
Following last week’s General Election, the Prime Minister has announced a new Government team. The main changes involve filling posts left vacant by Lib-Dem MPs. Jeremy Hunt MP for South West Surrey continues as Secretary of State for Health although Lord Howe has left the team.
The initial published announcement from DH included Lord Howe as a Minister, but this was changed during the day on 13th May.
Professor Nairn Wilson CBE has been inaugurated as the British Dental Association’s (BDA’s) 129th President in a ceremony on the opening day of the Association’s annual conference in Manchester. Commenting on his inauguration Professor Wilson said: “In accepting the office of President of the Association, I dedicate myself to serve the Association to the best of my ability.”
The FGDP (UK) has launched its Open Standards Initiative, which offers all dental professionals access to the highly regarded standards and guidance documents produced by them whether they are members of the Faculty or not. The Dean, Trevor Ferguson, said: “We want our standards and guidance documents to reach the widest possible audience for the benefit of the profession and the patients we treat.”
In a session held at the British Dental Association conference in Manchester three of the authors of the 2009 Steele Review of NHS Dentistry examined the progress of contract reform over the past six years. Professor Steele said: “The development of viable prototypes is now a very important step. It is fair to say that the type B prototypes, where disease prevention and management are grouped together under capitation, are probably closest to the approach that we had envisaged.”
Read more: Type B prototypes closest to Jimmy Steele’s vision
The British Dental Association’s (BDA) Mick Armstrong has issued a rallying cry to dentists to throw off the image of “the quiet profession” and rise to the challenge in the next parliament. The Chair of the Principal Executive Committee used his address to BDA Conference in Manchester to outline key strategic priorities for the BDA, including a focus on dental regulation, contracts and workforce morale.
Read more: Mick Armstrong issues rallying cry to the profession
Several dentists are standing for election to Parliament in the General Election today. GDPUK wishes them all luck.
Sir Paul Beresford, well known as a dentist and Conservative MP, has a safe seat in Mole Valley. Three other dental colleagues are standing too.
Dental practice-owners may need to draw on their powers of compromise in order to comply with the new rules on Shared Parental Leave (‘SPL’), says NASDAL. This allows parents to share up to 50 weeks’ leave in their child’s first year. The new rules apply to parents whose child is due to be born on or after 5 April 2015, allowing parents to share up to 50 weeks’ leave between them in a single continuous period or discontinuous, returning to work between periods of leave, before their child’s first birthday.
Read more: New rules allow new parents to spread out their leave says NASDAL