The boss of the Care Quality Commission, Ian Trenholm, has left the organisation. The regulator announced on June 25th that Mr Trenholm had signalled his intention to resign as Chief Executive ’at the end of the month’. It is understood his last working day was Friday 28th June.
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The rules of supply and demand should be fairly simple, but they fail to explain the results of a recent survey by Which? magazine.
Governments and health providers, understandably, like simple solutions. They can be low cost, easy to set up, staff and run. As a bonus, a general public with short attention spans are more likely to understand and appreciate them than more complex or nuanced offerings. This might explain the renewed focus on tooth brushing in schools, with two new stories showing that rolling out brushing instruction is becoming an on-trend dental public health activity.
Read more: Toothbrushing, Easy Political Answer or Meaningful Prevention?
“It is sometimes suggested to us that the GDC inflates concerns out of all proportion to their seriousness, often progressing cases all the way to a hearing when they could be resolved earlier.” So writes Clare Callan on the GDC website. Clare is the Associate Director of Fitness to Practice (FTP) at the GDC.
Politicians love catchy slogans and soundbites. It may be too early to know what expressions the current election will bring to a wider audience, though readers may remember “education, education, education” from 1997, and smile wistfully when they recollect the promise of “strong and stable” leadership, in 2017.
Read more: Popular Myths: Unicorns, the Tooth Fairy, and NHS Dentistry For All.
Thousands of NHS patients face ’disaster’ after a dental practice was ordered to close by the NHS. Sefton Dental Centre, a practice in Bootle, estimated that it cared for 7,000 patients under the NHS. Located in one of the most deprived areas in the country, it saw many vulnerable patients with complex needs. It has now been ordered to close.
A recent BBC report used biblical language in a story about NHS dentistry in Northern Ireland. This was not a report on sectarian disputes, but about dentistry, and the terms felt appropriate were of an ‘exodus’ that was ‘coming to pass’. The group seeking freedom from oppression on this occasion, are dentists with NHS contracts. Indeed so many wish to leave the scheme that there is now a waiting list for would be leavers and their soon-to-be former patients.
As the election campaigning ploughs on, two contrasting announcements shed some light on the gulf between the profession and our elected leaders. Indemnifier, The Dental Defence Union (DDU) have released details of responses to their recent survey of their members.
This year in the King’s Birthday Honours list, there have been awards of MBE and OBE to dentists. Peter Dyer, Clinical Senior Lecturer in Oral Surgery has been awarded an OBE.