BDA hits out at GDC Chair
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- Published: Wednesday, 18 June 2014 15:57
- Written by News Editor
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The British Dental Association (BDA) has responded strongly to The General Dental Council (GDC) chair Bill Moyes’ address to the FGDPUK at its Malcolm Pendlebury 2014 Lecture last week. The Association described it as ‘significant’ and indicates that the GDC will ‘substantially broaden its areas of interest and operation’, duplicating the activities of ‘other bodies properly charged with those responsibilities.’
The BDA continued that such a move ‘has the potential to distract from the real work of the GDC’. It could also add ‘unnecessary layers of bureaucracy on to already hard-pressed practitioners’. The BDA points out that the GDC is having difficulties in delivering on its current workload and ‘adding to that workload is only likely to exacerbate those difficulties’. The GDC’s real priority, the BDA says, ‘should be to address how it manages its core function of protecting patients before extending into areas that are not its responsibility.’
The BDA also points out that both the GDC’s present activity and any additional roles it may take on are funded entirely by the fees it receives from registrants. This includes administering the CPD scheme which is under review with changes to be announced in the near future. ‘As we have said before, these changes should not result in any further escalation of registrants’ fees’.
In light of spiralling annual retention fees the BDA believes that it is important for the GDC to demonstrate its competence and ability to deal with existing work demands before taking on more. Mr Moyes’ prediction that the fees are likely to go up significantly is worrying. This seems somewhat premature as the GDC has not yet launched its consultation, expected in the autumn, on the annual level of fees registrants should pay. The BDA comments: ‘It is our belief that this should take into account the views of the very people who will be most affected before making such announcements’.
The BDA will be asking for meetings with the senior team at the GDC to better understand its intentions and timeframes. ‘When we have had those conversations we will make a more comprehensive statement,’ it says.
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