Chief dental officer for England Sara Hurley has announced the appointment of her new deputy.
Rebecca Harris, a professor of dental public health at Liverpool University, will take on the role alongside fellow deputy, Jason Wong.
She will join the team at the end of January following the retirement of current deputy CDO, Eric Rooney.
Sara also reminds the profession that dental charges in England will increase from Monday, 14 December 2020.
Marathon, not a sprint
The 5% hike was slammed by the BDA, with the new fees now meaning:
- A routine check up will increase by £1.10. It will rise from £22.70 to £23.80
- Treatments (including root canals and extractions) will increase by £3.10, from £62.10 to £65.20
- In addition, procedures such as crowns, bridges and dentures will rise by £13.50, from £269.30 to £282.80.
Sara also discusses the start of the vaccine roll out.
‘As you will have seen on the news, the NHS has planned extensively to deliver the largest vaccination programme in our history, and it began on Tuesday,’ she said.
‘It’s important to say that while we are moving fast, this will be a marathon, not a sprint. I will keep you updated on timelines and progress and what this means for dental teams and more information is in this update.’
Mouth cancer message
The CDO’s latest update also featured updates from the GDC regarding CPD and registration arrangements following the end of the EU exit transition.
She added: ‘Mouth cancer action month came to an end in November, but its message is relevant every month. Myself and deputy chief dental officers Eric Rooney and Jason Wong each completed our 10k just in time before 1st December.
‘I know how many of you promoted mouth cancer action over the last month, and I am looking at ways to promote the signs to the public and support the profession on this important issue.’
You can read the full CDO update here.
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