GDC publishes three-year plan
By Gemma Raw
A new draft strategy published by the General Dental Council (GDC) sets out how the regulator will support dentists and dental nurses over the next three years to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide safe, high-quality care.
The new GDC Corporate Strategy 2023-25 follows on from two previous documents: Shifting the balance, published in 2017, and Right time, Right place, Right touch from 2020. It provides an evolved set of plans, taking into account four key issues:
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public, dental professionals, the dental sector and the GDC
delays and uncertainty over the plans to reform the health professional regulators
changes to registration processes following the UK’s departure from the EU
economic uncertainty that affects patient choice, dental businesses, individual dentists and the GDC.
In the strategy, the GDC acknowledges that some of these issues have resulted in limited access to dental care, particularly NHS dental care, and appear to disproportionately affect some members of the public, more than others. Consequently, there are concerns across the dental profession that the inequalities that existed before the pandemic have widened.
Challenging circumstances
The GDC is concerned that those working in dentistry jobs are facing unprecedented challenges in delivering their services to patients. The COVID-19 pandemic caused huge disruption to dental services and dental professional education and the effects are still being felt across the profession. The GDC recognises that this has caused enormous stress for dental professionals and applauds the enormous efforts made by dentists and dental nurses to sustain high standards of patient care despite all the difficulties.
“We know dental professionals have been providing patient care under exceptionally difficult circumstances,” said GDC Chair Lord Harris of Haringey. “This strategic plan describes how effective professional regulation can support the ongoing recovery of dental services from COVID-19 for the benefit of dental professionals, patients and the public.”
What does the GDC do?
The GDC is the regulator for dentistry in the UK. It’s there to protect the public, following statutory guidance set out in the Dentists Act. The organisation’s remit includes setting and supporting high professional standards in dental education and practice, maintaining a register of dentists who meet the required standards of professional practice and acting to protect the public if any dental professional falls short of those standards.
“Whatever context we face, our purpose remains constant: to protect the public,” writes Lord Harris in his foreword to the new strategy. “At the core of what we do is ensuring that the register is maintained so that the public only receives dental care from safe and effective dental professionals.”
