The General Dental Council (GDC) has published data on DCP (dental care professional) working patterns, including weekly hours and the volume of NHS and private care.
As part of their annual renewal, DCPs were asked to answer a survey about their working patterns. Nearly 44,000 DCPs took part in the survey, making up around 58% of the DCP register.
This follows the dentists’ working pattern data which was published in March this year.
The survey included questions about how much clinical work they carry out, the number of hours they work, and whether they deliver NHS or private care.
The GDC sought after this data in order to better understand the workforce challenges and how dental professionals are working throughout the UK. The regulator also believes this information will ‘provide important insight’ into the issues impacting the public’s access to dental services.
DCP working patterns
The survey found that the majority (86%) of DCPs were doing some clinical work. Some 47% of these were fully clinical, 18% were predominantly clinical, and 22% were a mix of clinical and non-clinical,
In addition, the majority (94%) reported working less than 40 hours per week. Around 48% of these worked between 30 and 40 hours, with 46% working 30 or less.
Regarding employment, 80% were employed with 14% self-employed, though this varied by DCP title. Just a fifth (22%) of clinical dental technicians (CDTs) reported being employed while a third (34%) were self-employed. This is compared to some 63% of dental therapists and 66% of dental hygienists who said they were self-employed.
Other survey findings included:
- Over a third (35%) said they delivered a mix of NHS and private care. This is a compared to a quarter (25%) providing fully private care while just 15% were ‘fully NHS’
- Some 64% said their dental setting was a general dental practice, with 12% working in a specialist dental practice
- Over three quarters (77%) reported having one place of work, though it varied by DCP title. This was true for 81% of dental nurses, compared to 38% of dental hygienists and 39% of dental therapists.
‘Rich picture’
Stefan Czerniawski is the GDC’s executive director, strategy. He said: ‘We now know more about the working patterns of dental professionals than ever before.
‘For the first time, there is now a rich picture of where dental professionals work, the balance between private and NHS practice, and the balance between clinical and non-clinical roles and activities, across the four nations of the UK.
‘I would like to thank all the DCPs whose data allowed us to build up this picture, and all the organisations who encouraged participation. This additional data provides a firm foundation for better understanding how dental professionals are working across the UK.
‘We are confident that these insights will support strategic planning and decision-making by health services, governments and dental providers, ultimately helping patients receive the care they need.’
The GDC will publish further data based on the working patterns of dentists and DCPs in the future, providing new insights across the whole dental team. It hopes this information will ‘further inform workforce discussions’.
Click here for the full working patterns data.
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