Dental Tribune Untited Kingdom Edition

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Code: 60035 March 5-11, 2012 VOL. 6 NO. 6 Tackling waiting times Health bosses have con- firmed that an additional 12,000 NHS dental places will be made available in Plym- outh in an effort to tackle waiting lists. It is hoped that the new places will also help encourage people to visit their dentist on a regular ba- sis. Currently around 1,800 people are waiting to reg- ister with an NHS dentist in Plymouth, however, thanks to £400,000 of funding, the new contracts will open up a further 5,000 dental places, plus a further 7,000 dental places in some of the poor- est areas of the city. Rob Wit- ton, a public health dentist working for NHS Plymouth, has urged patients to make use of the services available to them and to attend regu- lar check-ups to prevent oral health problems from devel- oping and putting off treat- ment will increase the risk of complex diseases devel- oping, which are much more costly to treat. Brushing saves lives A study that has identified a possible link between mouth bacteria and meningitis has suggested that regular brushing and flossing teeth could help prevent the dis- ease. The suggestion comes after researchers in Zurich found the newly-identified bacterium Streptococcus tigurinus in the blood of patients with meningitis. According to a report, the bacterium was also found in people with spondylodis- citis, or inflammation of the spine, and a type of heart disease called endocarditis. It is thought that the bacteri- um could get into the blood- stream through bleeding comes, although more re- search is needed to confirm the risk. The study has been published in the Internation- al Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. Whistle while you work Dentist Harvey Cooperberg, or as he is more famously known, the singing den- tist, is keeping his audience smiling at his practice on Main St. Markham, after be- ing one of a dozen Canadi- ans that featured on Way off Broadway on Bravo Canada at the beginning of March. For 30 years, 61-year-old Dr Cooperberg has been a den- tist; however he admits that he is “addicted to theatre”. Throughout his practice the walls are covered with pictures of Dr Cooperberg performing in Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast and a whole host of productions. www.dental-tribune.co.uk Youth with a purpose! Raising funds for Dentaid Freedom of speech? Rupert Hopperbrouwers dis- cusses online communication Bear Grylls style! Dentanurse takes trip down south News in Brief Feature DCPsFeatureNews Bye vending machine Northern Ireland ban comes into force page 4 page 13 page 16 page 26 CQC Chief Exec Resigns CQC Cynthia Bower resigns as critcal report is released I t’s been a turbulent time for the CQC these past few weeks, what with another report on the performance of the CQC published by the De- partment of Health (turn to page two for more detail on The Per- formance and Capability Review of the CQC) and Cynthia Bower, Chief Executive of the Care Qual- ity Commission (CQC) suddenly announcing her resignation. Since the news there has been speculation regarding her sudden departure, and deepen- ing the mystery surrounding her resignation, a non-execu- tive member of the CQC issued a ‘warning’ less than 24 hours before the news, concerning ‘planned changes’ to the current inspection regime. The state- ment revealed that the new ap- proach to be adopted by the CQC ‘will see inspectors looking more for non-compliance, rather than compliance’ and that from 1 April, there will be no time given for trusts to comply through im- provement notices; they will sim- ply be labelled as non-compliant or compliant. Dental Tribune contacted CQC regarding the future of CQC now that the Chief Executive had resigned; a spokesperson said that “CQC will continue to regu- late health and social care pro- viders as directed by the Health and Social Care Act 2008.” In the official press release from the CQC, Cynthia Bower said: “After almost four years leading CQC, I feel that it is now time to move on. The process of setting up an entirely new system of regulation has been intensely challenging - but we have accomplished an enormous amount. We have merged three organisations, registered 40,000 provider locations and brought virtually the entire health and social care network under one set of standards, which focus on the needs of people who use services. “I am pleased that the De- partment of Health Performance and Capability review, published today, recognises the scale of what has been achieved - and in particular the significant im- provements made over the last nine months. I’m confident that CQC will continue to build on the progress already made, de- livering increasing benefits to people who use services by shin- ing a light on poor care - and I am proud to have played a part in this.” Jo Williams, Chair of the CQC, said: “I am very sorry that Cynthia has decided to move on, but I understand her desire to take on new challenges. I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for the enormous contribution she has made to the setting up and running of CQC. She has shown tireless commit- ment to this organisation, and she leaves it in a strong position to carry out our essential role in tackling poor care. This is confirmed by today’s Perfor- mance Review from the De- partment of Health, which rec- ognises CQC’s “considerable achievements” in setting the essential platform from which tougher regulatory action can be taken.” Sir David Nicholson, NHS Chief Executive, said: “I would like to thank Cynthia for her commitment as CQC Chief Exec- utive. Building a new regulator involves great vision, leadership and resilience. This is always a complex task and one under con- stant scrutiny. It is great credit to Cynthia’s leadership to have achieved this.” Una O’Brien, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health, said: “Cynthia has pro- vided energetic leadership to the CQC from its very outset. Over her four years as Chief Execu- tive, CQC has introduced - for the first time - a new model of regu- lation for health and social care. Cynthia is a committed public servant and I wish her well for the future.” Cynthia Bower has agreed with the Chair that she will re- main in post until autumn 2012 to allow for an appropriate handover. The recruitment pro- cess for her successor will begin shortly. DT