Mental health
trouble stage a recovery, by setting conditions that are helpful and help- ing them get back to work. It would, of course, be better all
round if someone with a growing drink or drug problem sought help before the GDC got involved. The local GP and Occupational Health are obvious ports of call. The Dentists’ Health Support Programme (DHSP, formerly known as the Sick Dentist Scheme) also has a crucial role. Independent of the GDC, it is run by dentists in recovery themselves and is strictly confidential. That it exists at all is partly an acknowledgement that dentists, particularly in small towns, are unlikely to go to a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous where they may run into their own patients. With regular meetings all over the country, the DHSP aims to overcome that obstacle. To see ourselves as others see us
is a rare quality, so it may well be a colleague who has to persuade a troubled dentist to seek help or qui- etly contact the DHSP to seek help for them. It will be difficult, but I urge all of you to be vigilant – it is far
THE STRESS FACTOR
As if the stresses of den- tistry weren’t enough, at this time of year there is, unfortunately, one more to contend with: paying the Annual Retention Fee. Next to addiction it is a minor matter, but I want to mention it because the consequences of non- payment can be considerable – the worst of which is being removed from the register and told to stop working.
While occasionally den- tists in financial straits will deliberately not pay the fee and carry on working anyway – which is a serious offence – the reason for lack of pay- ment is almost always administrative. Not keep- ing your address details
up to date with the GDC and consequently not receiving the renewal notice (or the reminder) is one of the most com- mon reasons. It is particularly prevalent among young dentists who have changed jobs and location.
Other reasons for non-payment include changing bank accounts and being too near the limit on your account. Nobody wants to be told in early February to stop work this instant when they’ve got a full waiting room and
Christmas bills to pay, so I urge you to ensure you’re up-to-date. The stresses of dentistry are great enough without incurring them needlessly.
better to intervene than to stand by while a colleague implodes. In one tragic case, a dentist became
so stressed that he left the surgery after a day’s work, filled a couple of forged prescriptions at two chemists, checked into a hotel and downed the lot. He woke up in his own vomit a day and a half later, realised his fam- ily would be worried sick, and decided to drive home – and ended up crashing into a police car as he left the hotel. He was charged with driving under the influence, and then, when the police found out where he had got the drugs, he was charged with that too. How different things might have been had he felt able to seek help or had a colleague intervened.
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The Dentists’ Health Support Programme can be contacted confidentially on 020 7224 4671.
Hew Mathewson is a general practitioner in Edinburgh, a special adviser to the MDDUS and a former President of the General Dental Council
Scottish Dental magazine 31
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