Dental Protection has called on the new UK government to prioritise critical issues currently impacting dental professionals and patients.
These include access to NHS dentistry, GDC and clinical negligence claims reform, child oral health, and growth of and support for the dental workforce.
Key among the recommendations outlined in Dental Protection’s Priorities for the New Government paper is to ensure dentistry is no longer an afterthought when it comes to planning regulation reform. The new government has entered Downing Street 40 years after the enactment of The Dentists Act – the legislation which gives GDC its powers. Previous governments have progressed a range of reforms to other regulators’ legislation while making it clear that GDC reform was a lower priority.
Reform to the GDC’s outdated legislation could play a key role in reducing delays to fitness to practise processes, as it could give the regulator greater discretion to not take forward investigations where allegations clearly do not require action. The regulator could then focus on the most serious allegations and process them faster. In a 2023 Dental Protection survey of 125 dental professionals who have been investigated by the dental regulator, 82% said the process had a detrimental impact on their mental health.
Dental Protection says access to NHS dentistry across the country must also be tackled as a priority, as data from June 2023 shows that just 41% of adults had seen an NHS dentist in the last two years and more than a quarter of pensioners fear they will have to carry out their own dentistry.
The leading indemnifier is also calling for funding for public health to enable councils to offer crucial early interventions in child oral health. Tooth decay is preventable yet remains a key reason for why children are admitted to hospital.
‘Safeguard dental services for the future’
Raj Rattan, Dental Protection’s dental director, said: ‘Dentistry in the UK is at a crossroads. Important decisions – ranging from changes to the NHS general dental services contract to GDC reform – which have been deferred and delayed must now be addressed. This new government needs to implement a wide package of much needed reforms to secure, strengthen and safeguard dental services for the future.
‘The GDC itself has been calling for legislative reform for some years, as the current framework continues to limit its ability to deliver functions with efficiency. Successive governments have however failed to deliver on substantive reform to the legislation. For too long, regulation reform proposals have focused on other larger regulators such as the GMC and NMC with much needed reform to the GDC relegated to an afterthought.
‘It is time for GDC reform to be placed at the front of the queue. We urge the government to provide timescales for GDC reform and commit to delivering reforms to the professional regulators within this parliamentary term.’
‘Dentists disillusioned about the prospect for reform’
He added: ‘As a dental defence organisation, we also believe that better access to NHS dentistry could play an important role in improving the patient experience and thereby reduce the risk of complaints. Contract reform needs to enable dental care professionals to work in different ways and to make the best use of the skill mix within the practice.
‘The process for contract reform started in 2010 and the length of time this has taken has left dentists disillusioned about the prospect for reform. Fully utilising the skill mix within the dental team could also help to tackle the child oral health crisis.
‘Dental Protection is keen to support the new government in overhauling these vital policies and making positive progress as swiftly as possible.’
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This article is sponsored by Dental Protection.
