Faced with intractable problems, such as sorting out NHS dentistry, some politicians recognise that they might need expert advice. That raises the question of where to seek such enlightenment. Often, they gravitate to people like themselves, who speak their language and often share their limited experience of life outside politics.
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Newly disclosed emails have revealed the GDCs determination to defend wrongful dishonesty findings and erasures in Fitness to Practice cases, at all costs. They demonstrate that it continued its ill-fated attempt to appeal a High Court decision, despite rejection of their repeated requests for backing from a number of other bodies.
Read more: GDC Pursued Top Up Case Despite No Support From NHS
Preet Kaur Gill MP, Labour’s Shadow Primary Care & Public Health Minister has been outlining her party’s plan to rescue NHS dentistry.
Read more: “The Cavalry Is Coming” Labour Tells BDA Conference
One dentist’s persistent pursuit of accountability from the GDC has led to a previously hidden tranche of emails and letters being released. These shed further light on the GDC’s repeated embarrassments at the hand of the judicial system following its inability to accept the various shortcomings in its handling of the Williams case.
Read more: Hidden GDC Emails, more questions about Council’s conduct in the Williams case
There has been some confusion about Dental Vans. For a start they are not actual vans, but typically 7.5 ton lorries.
One of the promised features of the dental recovery plan was to introduce ‘golden hellos’ for dentists willing to fill some of the most problematic gaps in NHS coverage. Guidance has now been issued that gives some detail about how this will work. Up to 240 dentists will be offered a payment of £20000 to work in under served areas for three years.
The British Dental Association (’BDA’) has written a polite, but firm request to NHS England CEO Amanda Pritchard seeking to secure for GDPs the same rights to paid, compassionate leave as the NHS is to offer its directly employed workers.
This is not a fairy tale. It is a story of two dentists, two similar charges, two dental regulators, and two very different outcomes. The regulators happen to be separated by the Irish Sea.
Read more: Goldilocks, the Three Bears, and Dental Regulation
There will always be a section of the public with an unerring instinct to seek out the most doubtful providers for their dental care. Whitening by beauticians, orthodontics from Smile Direct, and of course the excesses of “Turkey teeth” have all found eager customers.