The issue of The GDC’s interest in its registrant’s lives outside of the surgery, and away from patient interactions is not new. A recent Subject Access Request (SAR) has shown that the GDC continue to take an interest in issues that have little if anything to do with protecting the public or maintaining confidence in the profession.
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The changing experiences of dental professionals have been bought into sharp focus by a recent survey from one of the largest indemnifiers. A new Dental Protection survey of over 1,300 UK dental professionals, revealed that more than half (57%) had experienced or witnessed verbal or physical abuse from patients, or their relatives, in the past 12 months.
Read more: Increased Abuse as Public Frustration with Access Boils Over
The NHS Dental Statistics for England 2022-23 have just been published and out of the myriad of numbers, percentages and trends, one statistic will see ministers cling to it like Titanic passengers to a life raft: the number of courses of treatment delivered over the past year is up by almost a quarter at 23.2 %.
Read more: NHS Dental Statistics: Dentist Numbers Down But Treatments Delivered Are Up
With our unique NHS system and accident prone government, it is often assumed that health related matters are worse in the UK than elsewhere, and that we will languish at the bottom of league tables, complete with a particularly unhappy workforce.
With dental news in the UK press often about NHS access and workforce, the profession has, so far at least, been spared patients commenting on the latest dentists behaving (very) badly stories. Spare a thought then, for our North American colleagues.
GDPUK has reported from time to time on fake dentists, most recently the case of a one man band caught operating from a hotel room in the USA. But this pales into insignificance with the scale of the problems now being reported much closer to UK borders.
One of the most enduring memories of Covid-19 lockdowns was the phenomenon of home working. And as the nation came to terms with restrictions on movement and socialising (Downing Street excepted), a new phrase entered the vocabulary – ‘zoom meetings.’
GDPUK readers may recall the report of how the GDC pushed on with recent fitness to practice proceedings, even as the council’s case unravelled. A new Freedom of Information (FOI) request has shed some light on the financial costs involved, and the GDC’s decision making processes.
Read more: GDC Spent £271,865 on 'no case to answer' Fitness to Practise Hearing
The latest figures from the GDC may offer a glimmer of hope for UK dentistry as it struggles with workforce shortages. Following the latest renewal cycle, the number of Dental Care Professionals (DCP’s) has risen. This is in contrast to recent years where the trend has been one of declining numbers.