GDC Launches Revalidation Consultation

admin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:04:48 +0000

The General Dental Council (GDC) has opened its new 12 week consultation into revalidation. The aim of the revalidation is to provide a way of checking that dentists continue to meet GDC. The issue that the GDC’s Fitness to Practise proceedings has had in the past is that it is assumed dental professionals are continuing to meet its standards, unless the regulator receives information which suggests otherwise. The GDC have admitted that this is not good enough. The GDC plans to introduce revalidation for dentists in 2014: they have stated that the revalidation will simply build on the current requirements for continuing professional development and will provide an opportunity for those in difficulty to identify and tackle any problems before they become serious. A standards and evidence framework will set out the standards dentists must meet under the four domains of clinical, management and leadership, communication and professionalism. The framework will also set out the evidence which will be acceptable to demonstrate compliance with each standard. Dentists will gather this evidence over five years, and revalidate at the end of each cycle. The GDC are proposing a three-stage process at the end of each cycle: • Stage 1 – compliance check, which will apply to all dentists; • Stage 2 – remediation phase, which will provide an opportunity to dentists who do not pass Stage 1 to remedy deficiencies; • Stage 3 – in-depth assessment, which will apply to dentists who fail to demonstrate compliance at the end of the remediation phase. The proposals aim to avoid over-regulation by making as much use of existing and developing quality systems. The consultation takes into account the findings of an earlier consultation, research and pilots carried out in 2009. Chair of the GDC’s Revalidation Working Group and Council Member, Denis Toppin said: “We are keen to get feedback from a range of stakeholders including registrants, patients, organisations representing the interests of patients and providers of quality initiatives. We want to make sure we get it right for the dentists we regulate. As a practising GDP I want the GDC to keep the extra regulatory burden to a minimum whilst maximising patient protection. We need you to get involved and have your say on our proposals so that you can help us to get them right and have the confidence of the public and professionals alike.” Sourced by Dental Tribune

New Coalition Government To Review Its Dental Inheritance

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:40:15 +0000

The new dentistry minister (the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health with responsibility for dentistry) has confirmed that the government will review the details of the NHS dental system which was inherited from the previous government. Mr Howe also confirmed that the government’s proposed reforms will be declared once they have talked to the profession and patient groups. His comments were said during the Queen’s Speech Debate in the House of Lords, in response to a speech by Lord Colwyn, a dental surgeon and Conservative Peer. Lord Colwyn spoke of dentistry as being at ‘another crossroads’. He said that the decisions made in this Parliament to transform the delivery of NHS dentistry will be “extremely important. We have been left with an unfinished reform following the 2009 Steele review. We must grasp this opportunity if we are to improve the oral health of the nation”. Lord Colwyn, who is also an officer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dentistry (to which the BDA is elected secretariat), said that the challenge of reforming dentistry—to deliver a better system both for patients and dentists— comes at a time when tough financial decisions are to be made across all Whitehall departments. He also welcomed the coalition government’s commitment in their programme for government.“The acknowledgement of dentistry in this document is very positive and much needed,” he said. He also alluded to the extra regulation that dentists will have to adhere to as both NHS and private practices will have to be registered with the Care Quality Commission by the end of March next year. Lord Colwyn called the challenges ‘threefold’. “First, the Government must complete the unfinished reforms, learning from the mistakes of the much criticised 2006 contract—in particular, avoiding the failure properly to pilot change. The contract was so disastrous that it initially saw access fall dramatically. Only in the past six months has access climbed back to the level it was at in 2006. I am delighted that the government have committed to pilot any changes. “Secondly, we must pursue consistently high-quality commissioning of primary dental care. Some PCTs perform well, but many have room for improvement. They must be properly supported in their work, particularly by ensuring that they employ or have access to dental practice advisers and dental public health expertise. “Thirdly, there must be a commitment o tackling oral health nequalities to close the unacceptable chasm which exists between those with good and poor oral health as highlighted in the British Dental Association’s general election manifesto, Smiles all round,” he said. He ended his speech saying: “the coalition has made it clear that dentistry is a priority. The task now is to work out the detail with the profession, to deliver real change for patients and dentists.” DT

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GDC Launches Revalidation Consultation

New Coalition Government To Review Its Dental Inheritance