Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

PUBLISHED IN LONDON B BC reporter John Waite re- cently presented a Radio 4 Face the Facts broadcast on the GDC and its fitness to regulate the dental profession; interview- ing a number of ex-GDC workers, patients and the new Chief Execu- tive and Registrar of the GDC, Ev- lynne Gilvarry along the way. Criticised for its complaint handling, admin problems (which have resulted in a serious backlog of cases), problems arising due to upheavals in management and a public resignation from former GDC chair Alison Lockyer over is- sues “that caused [her] concern”, it can be fair to say that it hasn’t been an easy time for the GDC these last few years; but as Waite discovered, there seems to be lit- tle room for excuse. The problems surround the GDC’s complaints procedures. In 2010 there were 1,400 complaints, and although this sounds relative- ly small in comparison to the ap- prox 100,000 dental professionals registered with the GDC, many of these complaints are in a backlog. Although the GDC are fully aware of the problem and have plans to deal with the issue Harry Cay- ton, CE Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence, who was interviewed for the broadcast, explained that complaints are not being dealt with “quickly and ef- fectively” and in some cases deci- sions go against common sense. One such incident involved dentist Mohammed Siddique, who was found guilty of re-using dis- posable instruments and gloves, and failing to sterilise equipment; he was also found guilty of not us- ing water whilst drilling. After im- mediately being suspended by his PCT, the complaint was handed over to the GDC, who after tak- ing two years to go through the complaints process, decided that he was fit to practise, even though they had originally concluded that there had been “serious breaches of the standards expected.” When confronted about the case, Ms Gilvarry said: “The GDCs role is not to punish the practition- er; it is to say ‘how can patients be protected here?’” So why is it taking so long for theGDCtoinvesitagtecomplaints? Although the GDC have stated that there has been an 11 per cent decrease in the time taken to get a case to the investigating com- mittee and out of the cases that had been awaiting a hearing for longerthanninemonths,therehad been a 29 per cent decrease these figures,asWaiteuncovered,donot include cases that have yet to reach the Fitness to Practise panel. With examples such as this and concerns that the regulator was favouring dentists over pa- tients in case complaints, it is no wonder that people have been questioning whether the regula- tor is putting patient safety first. Mr Cayton did express that “over- all [GDC] are protecting the pub- lic.” However, he also stated that: “The [GDC] needs to refocus all its energy and its attention on patient safety and the quality of dentistry.” The GDC have said they wel- comed the opportunity to take part in the programme and a raft of changes they have introduced to improve the handling of com- plaints against dental profession- als is, they believe, already having a positive impact. Ms Gilvarry explained that the organisationhasturnedthecorner with a much improved FtP pro- cess, which sees the fast-tracking ofthemostseriouscases,addition- al and better trained staff, seek- ing of clinical advice at the out- set of particular cases and an in- crease in the number of daily hearings and decision meetings to helpclearthebacklogofcases.She said: “The measures we have in- troduced to improve our Fitness to Practise processes are aimed at enhancing patient protection. We have made significant progress in the last 12 months and further reforms planned will see a contin- ued improvement in 2012.” DT EschmannCare FIVE year warranty protection now comes as standard with Little Sister products... Go Direct Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Protected by Call 01903 875787 or visit EschmannDirect.com for details And, when you buy from EschmannDirect, the first two years of ServicePlan cover that protects your EC5 warranty are included. January 23-28, 2012 VOL. 6 NO. 2 Dentists reach end of cycle More than 11,000 dentist registrants came to the end of their five year cycle on 31 December 2011 and must ensure that they have de- clared their CPD hours by 28 January 2012. All dentist registrants (except those whose cycle didn’t start until 1 January 2012) should have recently received a letter reminding them about their end of year declaration. The easiest way for you to make an end of year declaration is by logging on to www.egdc- uk.org. If you haven’t got an eGDC account you can reg- ister using your ID-verifica- tion code, which is included in the declaration letter. Oth- erwise you can complete the form enclosed with the let- ter, returning it to the GDC in the freepost envelope by 28 January 2012. Any forms received after this date will not be processed. Experts call drink warnings Researchers in Australia have called for a new health warning on energy drinks after the number of people reporting medical problems after drinking rose last year. In 2004 Health professionals from the University of Syd- ney’s Medical School and the New South Wales Poisons Information Centre said there were just 12 reported incidents where people had suffered from an adverse re- action to energy drinks; in 2010 this figure jumped up to 65. Further figures reveal that since 2004 297 calls for assistance have been re- corded and at least 128 peo- ple have been hospitalised after drinking the highly caf- feinated drinks. According to reports 20 people were re- corded having seizures and hallucinations. The study was published in the Medical Journal of Australia. Liquorice fights tooth decay A recent report has stated that scientists have identi- fied too substances in liquo- rice that kill bacteria which causes tooth decay and gum disease. The study, pub- lished in the ACS’ Journal of Natural Products suggests that the substances the sci- entists have found could play a major role in both treating and preventing gum disease. According to the report, they found that two of the licorice compounds, licoricidin and licorisoflavan A, were the most effective antibacterial substances and killed two of the major bacteria respon- sible for dental cavities and two of the bacteria that pro- mote gum disease. www.dental-tribune.co.uk The DA Debate DT looks at two sides of the Direct Access argument Media ghost town? Rita Zamora discusses Google+ Special care dentistry Margaret Martin provides an important insight News in Brief Social Media DCPsNews & OpinionNews Team up! The B2A three peaks challenge page 4 pages 8-10 pages 15-16 page 24 It’s time to Face the Facts Radio 4 programme highlights major concerns about the General Dental Council (GDC) and its FtP procedures