Ewen McColl, Director of Clinical Dentistry and Deputy Head of School at Peninsula Dental School* (PDS), has been elected Chair of The Association of Dental Hospitals.
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Previous years have seen ministers address the Annual Conference of Local Dental Committees, but not this year. Both the current Under-Secretary of State, Neil O’Brien, as well as one of his predecessors, declined an invitation to speak to the Conference.
One change generally agreed to be for the better at the GDC, was the arrival of Lord Toby Harris as Chair, replacing the deeply unloved William Moyes. Lord Harris frequently refers to his aim to meet registrants and stakeholders on a regular basis, and this includes some dentists.
Read more: GDC Plans Detailed Workforce Survey - Doubts Are Raised
Meeting someone for the first time often leads to the “what do you do” question. And the response to, “I’m a dentist” has definitely changed over the years. Dentistry is now news-worthy.
The annual LDC conference, held this year in Harrogate, provides a snapshot of UK dental politics. Local Dental Committees may be associated with the NHS, but what happens in the service rarely stays in the service. The motions and speakers spotlight the concerns and priorities of the moment.
NHS England began their statement announcing the Chief Dental Officer’s departure with the emphasis on the next stage of her career. Rather than lead with her past achievements they began: “Sara Hurley, the Chief Dental Officer for England is standing down after eight years in the job to focus on her new roles as a Non-Executive Director at Surrey Heartlands ICB and as an independent director at the University of Suffolk.”
Read more: CDO’s Project Takes Shape. Is This The Future of NHS Dentistry?
The unedifying saga of the GDC and its unwillingness to consider the damage to registrant mental health and suicides related to its Fitness to Practice (FtP) process, has taken a new turn. Last year the GDC had promised to provide numbers of those taking their life during FtP, and to do this in the first half of 2023. After nearly six months and a month ahead of their self imposed deadline, they have now slipped out a convoluted justification for failing to meet their own promise.
Toothless In England, the dental patient protest and lobbying group, is to present its views on the NHS dental access crisis to a ‘Roundtable’ meeting of Parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee on Wednesday 7th June.
Read more: Dental Patient Protest Group Invited To Parliament’s Round Table
The government and its spokespeople never miss an opportunity to boast about their recent ‘reforms’ to the NHS contract that have enabled dentists treating more than three teeth to claim five UDAs (up from three) underpinned by a new minimum payment to practices of £23 per UDA.