Tamara Milanovic attended the General Dental Council’s Dental Leadership Network event to find out what leaders in the profession think about recent GDC updates and the issues the sector is facing.
Recently, the General Dental Council (GDC) hosted Dental Leadership Network. This event invited leaders in the profession to discuss their perspectives and concerns regarding the sector.
Chair of the GDC, Lord Toby Harris, welcomed the attendees and outlined the agenda for the day.
‘I hope that today’s Dental Leadership Network is an opportunity for all of us to listen and contribute, so that, together, we can better understand and respond to the challenges facing dentistry.
‘Words will be nothing without actions’, he said.
Looking towards the future
An insightful panel discussion took place at the event.
It included different leaders in the profession, including Nishma Sharma, chair of the Diversity in Dentistry Action Group, Tom Riall, CEO of Mydentist and Dominika Krowiarz, deputy president of the Dental Technologists Association.
In addition, Professor Chris Tredwin, chair of the Dental Schools Council, and Tom Ferris, chief dental officer for Scotland were also on the panel.
The panel answered some of the audience’s questions and brought up their own points. Topics included the importance of coming together to take action for the profession, the need for a dental workforce survey and how to tackle challenges with recruitment and retention.
Nishma discussed the values of a good leader. This included knowing each individual’s strengths and distributing tasks, leading with core values and leading through action.
‘There can be leadership without hierarchy’, she stated, alluding to dental nurses being highly undervalued in their roles.
‘We’ve got to stand together’, Chris said.
‘There are changes the GDC can make’
Leo Briggs, deputy head of the DDU was an attendee of the conference. He said: ‘We were pleased to be included in the discussion with the GDC about its future plans for regulating dental professionals.
‘One of the key challenges the GDC faces is that the government has delayed the introduction of the legislation required to overhaul fitness to practise procedures – something that the DDU and the GDC want to see.
‘This is disappointing as dental professionals deserve a modern and responsive regulator.’
He continued: ‘However, there are changes the GDC can make in the meantime. For example, there is an overwhelming need to speed up the time it takes to investigate cases.’
In addition, Kate Kerslake, CEO of the National Examining Board for Dental Nurses (NEBDN), attended the event. She said: ‘There’s a really good breadth and depth to the people that are represented in this room. I’d like to make sure that dental nurses are fully represented in that.
‘From a positive perspective, it’s great that the things being discussed today are under scrutiny and put on the table for discussion. But you want something to happen on the back of that and you want to make sure that it’s appropriate.’
President of the British Association of Oral Surgeons, Dr Julie Burke, was also in attendance. She said: ‘This event has achieved some of the transparency that the GDC was hoping to achieve. I just hope that there are actions points that come from this meeting.’
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